Common Name:

General Information

Discoglypremna caloneura is a tree that can vary widely in size from about 9 metres up to 30 metres or more, with one report saying trees up to 45 metres have been recorded[, , ]. The straight bole can be unbranched for up to two thirds of its height; it is up to 200cm in diameter with buttresses up to 3 metres high[, ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood. It has potential for use as a pioneer species when restoring native woodland.

Known Hazards

Wood-ashes are reported to produce sores on the skin[].
The seed or seed oil is emetic and purgative. The oil is mixed with bait and used to kill unwanted animals[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - moister regions from Guinea through Cameroon to Uganda, south to northern Angola and DR Congo.

Habitat

Rainforest and old secondary forest, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,100 metres[]. Also found as a weed-species of regenerating forest[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	25.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of crushed leaves is taken by draught as an expectorant in the treatment of bronchial troubles[].
A maceration of ground leaves in water is applied to the head to kill lice[].

The bark is emetic. A decoction is given in to relieve convulsive coughing and intestinal pains in cases of food-poisoning[, ]
The powdered bark is applied topically to treat sores in order to promote healing[].

The seed or seed oil is abortifacient, emetic and purgative[, ]. It is used as an emeto-purgative in dysenteric diarrhoea and oedema, also to help in cases of difficult childbirth[, ].

Traces of alkaloids have been detected in the bark of the stems and roots[].
Preliminary tests have shown the presence of tannins in the stem bark and roots, and several diterpene derivatives inthe stem bark[].
The stem bark also contains 3-Oacetyl aleuritolic acid, which exhibited significant antifilarial activity, affecting the vitality of adult male filaria of Onchocerca gutturosa[].
A crude ethanolic leaf extract showed moderate bacteriostatic effects in vitro against Staphylococcus aureusand Enterococcus faecalis[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The fruit is fleshy and pubescent, and reddish when ripe with a bitter taste. It is not eaten by humans, but is, however, sought after by birds which distribute the seeds[]. These seeds are scattered widely, often germinating in open ground and thus the plant has become known as a weed species of regenerating forest[, ]. This habit makes the plant potentially useful as a pioneer species when restoring native forest[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is whitish to yellowish brown; it is indistinctly demarcated from the sapwood. The grain is straight; texture rather coarse; radial surfaces show some darker streaks and a slight silvery figure. The wood is light in weight, soft and not durable, being liable to blue stain, termite and Lyctusattacks[, ]. It is considered to be too soft and perishable for building purposes, canoes, etc, but it is easy to carve and so is used for making devil-masks and food-bowls[]. The wood is suitable for light construction, light flooring, joinery, interior trim, ship building, vehicle bodies, furniture, cabinet work, boxes, crates, matches, turnery, veneer, lywood, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood[].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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