Common Name:

General Information

Andrachne aspera is usually a prostrate or decumbent perennial herb, though sometimes the stems are more upright. The plant usually produces several stems from a woody rootstock, these stems are up to 60cm long and usually more or less unbranched[, ].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

W. Africa - Cameroon; N. Africa - Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Somalia; through Arabia to Pakistan.

Habitat

Open dry woodland or bushland and in dry, sandy or stony river beds, at elevations from sea-level up to 2,000 metres, occasionally to 2,400 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant mainly of arid and subarid lowland areas of the subtropics, but also found in the tropics of west Africa.
Requires a sunny position[]. Found in the wild in sandy, well-drained soils[, ]. Plants are very drought tolerant.
The plant rarely flowers in its first year of growth from seed[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The roots are eaten as an anti-emetic[].
A decoction of the bitter root is used as eye drops to treat eye infections and improve eyesight[].

An extract of the aerial parts is drunk as a poison antidote, and to treat headache and stomach-ache[].

The aerial parts of the plant contain a number of piperidine alkaloids and terpenes[].
An alcoholic extract of the aerial parts has shown stimulatory activity on the respiration and blood pressure; spasmolytic activity; and also antihistaminic activity[].
Root extracts have shown significant antibacterial activity against several human pathogens, but methanol extracts of the aerial parts were inactive[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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