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Useful Tropical Plants

Catharanthus longifolius

(Pichon) Pichon

Apocynaceae

+ Synonyms

Lochnera longifolia Pichon

Common Name:

Catharanthus longifolius
Close-up of the flower
Photograph by: Ando Ramahefaharivelo
Creative Commons License

General Information

Catharanthus longifolius is a perennial plant with stems that become more or less woody and can be 40 - 150cm long.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

A concentrated extract of the plant was formerly drunk as an ordeal poison[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Botanical References

455
Title
Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
Publication
 
Author
Humbert H.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
Year
1946 - 1984
ISBN
 
Description
Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.

Range

Africa - central and southern central Madagascar.

Habitat

Freshwater wetland; Inselberg/rock face; thickets and wooded grassland; at elevations up to 2,000 metres.

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.50 m
PollinatorsSelf
Self-fertileYes
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses



This species hybridizes in the wild with Catharanthus roseus[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Medicinal

An extract of the aerial parts is used as a treatment to expel worms[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

The plant is rich in indole alkaloids, including several bisindole alkaloids[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The plant contains the pharmacologically active compound vindolicine[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-06. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Catharanthus+longifolius>

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