Common Name:

General Information

Drypetes chevalieri is a shrub or small tree, usually growing up to 6 metres tall though specimens up to 10 metres have been recorded[, ].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Guinea to Central African Republic, south to Gabon, Congo and DR Congo.

Habitat

An understorey plant of the closed-forest and secondary forest of the rain-forest zone, often by streams[]. Wet or dry forests at elevations up to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	5.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant can be monoecious or dioecious. Dioecious forms will need both male and female plants to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The sap expressed from the leaves and twigs is taken in draught as a treatment for dysentery and other intestinal troubles[, ]. The powdered leaves are sometimes used as a snuff for head-colds and sinusitis[, ].

The plant (part not specified) is also used for the treatment of bronchial and intestinal troubles[].

An extract of the dried stem yielded the sterol erythrodiol, and the triterpenes drypechevalin A and drypechevalin B, lupeol, lupeone, putranjivadione and friedelin[].

Other Uses

The wood is hard. The twiggy branch ends are used to make brooms[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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