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Useful Tropical Plants

Stemmadenia litoralis

(Kunth) L.Allorge

Apocynaceae

+ Synonyms

Echites bignoniiflorus Schltdl.

Odontostigma galeottianum A.Rich.

Peschiera litoralis (Kunth) Miers

Stemmadenia bella Miers

Stemmadenia bignoniiflora (Schltdl.) Miers

Stemmadenia galeottiana (A.Rich.) Miers

Stemmadenia greenmanii Woodson

Stemmadenia insignis Miers

Stemmadenia macrophylla Greenm.

Tabernaemontana laurifolia Schott ex Miers

Tabernaemontana litoralis Kunth

Common Name:

Stemmadenia litoralis
Flowering branches
Photograph by: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo
Creative Commons License
Stemmadenia litoralis Stemmadenia litoralis Stemmadenia litoralis Stemmadenia litoralis

General Information

Stemmadenia litoralis is a shrub or small tree growing up to 10 metres tall[
369
Title
Flora of Costa Rica
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago
Year
1938
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.
].
The latex obtained from the plant is sometimes used as a masticatory. A very ornamental plant, it is often grown in gardens, being valued especially for its highly aromatic flowers. When in full bloom, perfume fills the area with a soft, musky sweetness.

Known Hazards

The plant is reported to be highly poisonous, and it is stated that use of ashes from the wood in treating corn for making tortillas has sometimes caused grave accidents[
369
Title
Flora of Costa Rica
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago
Year
1938
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.
].

Botanical References

331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
,
369
Title
Flora of Costa Rica
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C.
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago
Year
1938
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, but an excellent treatment of the area. Available for download from the internet.

Range

Northern S. America - Colombia, through Central America to Mexico.

Habitat

Moist or wet forests at elevations up to 700 metres[
331
Title
Flora of Guatemala
Publication
 
Author
Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark
Website
http://www.archive.org/
Publisher
 
Year
1946 - 1976
ISBN
 
Description
A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *
HabitTree
Height6.00 m
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details


Grows well in full sun (if the climate is not too hot), as well as in semi-shade, and can tolerate deeper shade as well, where it's glossy leaves become large and dark green. Plants can tolerate a little sea spray.

Edible Uses

A latex obtained from the plant is used as a masticatory[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. Some caution should be employed since there are reports that the plant is very poisonous.

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Stemmadenia+litoralis>

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