Catharanthus ovalis
Markgr.
Apocynaceae
Common Name:
Flowers and leaves
Photograph by: Sun dazed
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
General Information
Catharanthus ovalis is a perennial plant growing up to 40cm tall.
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 - southern central Madagascar.
Habitat
Forest; grassland, Inselberg/rock face; wooded grassland; at elevations up to 2,000 metres.
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.40 m |
| Pollinators | Self |
| Self-fertile | Yes |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
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 leurosine, vindoline, vindolinine, coronaridine, catharanthine and vinblastine (vincaleucoblastine)[
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 -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
