Common Name:

General Information

Antidesma membranaceum is a shrub or small tree with a dense crown; usually growing up to 8 metres tall but sometimes becoming a larger tree up to 20 metres tall[, ]. The bole is fluted and there are small buttresses on larger trees[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood. It is planted for shade in home gardens[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Africa - Senegal to Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and northern S. Africa.

Habitat

Mixed woodland, humid woodland and evergreen forest, also in riverine vegetation and ravines, along lakeshores and in coastal forest, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,850 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	6.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark has a great reputation within its native range as an aphrodisiac[, ].
The powdered bark is used as a dusting on wounds[, ].

The leaves are used as medicine for stomach-ache and snake bites[].
A leaf decoction, in a bath, is used to prevent abortion[, ].
An infusion of the leaves and roots is drunk to treat coughs and chest problems[, ].

A decoction of the root is taken to treat stomach-ache, colic, coughs, kwashiorkor, pneumonia and snakebites[]. Scrapings of the roots are chewed to treat mouth ulcers in children[, ].

The powdered seeds are eaten to expel roundworms[].

The plant contains a number of alkaloids. Antidesmone, an unusual hydroquinolone or glycine-derived alkaloid found in the leaves and bark, has potent and highly selective antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma cruzi, the pathogenic agent of Chagas' disease[].

Other Uses

The white wood is hard. It is used in construction, and for making tool handles, knife sheaths and spoons[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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