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Useful Tropical Plants

Aspidosperma excelsum

Benth.

Apocynaceae

+ Synonyms

Aspidosperma marcgravianum Woodson

Aspidosperma nitidum Benth. ex Müll.Arg.

Macaglia excelsa (Benth.) Kuntze

Common Name: Remo Caspi

Aspidosperma excelsum
Trunk
Photograph by: Alfredo Fuentes
Creative Commons License
Aspidosperma excelsum Aspidosperma excelsum Aspidosperma excelsum

General Information

Remo caspi is a huge, multi-buttressed, evergreen canopy tree of the Amazon Rainforest. It grows up to 30 meters high and has large above-ground buttress roots.
The plant is often used medicinally within its native range. The tree is quite popular with the loggers and the lumber industry since it produces a huge quantity of high quality rainforest hardwood timber[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Known Hazards

The freshly cut wood and sap of Aspidosperma species causes irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, with general malaise[
407
Title
BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database)
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin.
].
The sawdust, on contact with abraded skin, produces local burning and a vesicular eruption with general symptoms of muscular weakness and cramps, sweating, dryness of the mouth, and faintness[
407
Title
BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database)
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin.
].
Once the wood is thoroughly dry it loses its toxicity unless polishes or dyes in organic solvents are used on it[
407
Title
BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database)
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin.
]

Botanical References

409
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden Vol. 38
Publication
 
Author
 
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden
Year
1951
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent botanical publication, available for download from the Internet. This volume contains part of the Flora of Panama and a revision of the genus Aspidosperma, amongst other things.

Range

Western S. America - Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Guyana, through C. America to Costa Rica.

Habitat

Lower elevations of the tropical rainforest[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height30.00 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The root bark is antibacterial, antiperiodic, antiseptic, antitussive, aphrodisiac, carminative, digestive, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic, stomachic and vasodilator[
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.
,
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

A decoction of the bark is a very common remedy for malaria, widely used by local people throughout the Amazon rainforest[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
]. It is also used in the treatment of other types of fevers, digestive disorders, hepatitis, bronchitis, high blood pressure, inflammation, diabetes and cancer[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].
The stem bark or leaf stems are also chewed on to prevent cavities and relieve toothaches[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

The main active constituents are a group of indole alkaloids that are called aspidosperma alkaloids. Several of these have been shown to have antimalarial actions[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].
The root bark also contains another well known alkaloid called yohimbine. This has been the subject of much research as a vasodilator for the treatment for erectile dysfunction[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Other Uses

The wood is durable, compact, strong and elastic[
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.
]. It is used for construction, mill rollers etc[
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.
,
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
]. The large buttress roots are often used to construct canoe paddles since the root wood is lightweight yet highly durable[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
,
476
Title
Handbook of S. American Indians.
Publication
Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143
Author
Steward J. H. (Editor)
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
US Government Printing Office; Washington
Year
1946 - 1950
ISBN
 
Description
In six volumes, a detailed look at the native peoples of S. America - their culture, lifestyle, use of plants etc,
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-05. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Aspidosperma+excelsum>

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