Common Name:

General Information

Euclea divinorum is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a much-branched crown; it usually grows up to about 6 metres tall, but with occasional specimens up to 15 metres[, ].
A multi-purpose tree, the bark, roots, twigs, fruits and wood are collected from the wild and traded locally; they do not enter international trade[]. The twigs and roots for use as toothbrushes are often sold on local markets[]. Occasionally, the plant is used as an ornamental and shade tree[, ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern and southern Africa - Ethiopia and Kenya, south to Angola, Mozambique and S. Africa.

Habitat

Grassland with scattered trees and open bushland, often on termite mounds, but also in secondary forest, margins of evergreen forest and on stony slopes, from sea-level up to elevations of 2,700 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of drier areas in the tropics and subtropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 2,400 metres. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperatures are around 17°c, and the mean annual rainfall around 700mm[].
Prefers mesic calcareous valley clays and sometimes rocky ground[]. Moderately tolerant of heavy metals in the soil, tolerating high concentrations of nickel, but only relatively low levels of copper, and often becomes locally abundant on metalliferous soils. It is particularly common on arsenical soils[].
The plant has a good coppicing ability and root suckers are common, growing up some distance from the tree[].
Plants tends to dominate pastures to the detriment of wildlife and pastoralism. In some situations only the use of arboricides can solve the problem[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seeds are required[].

Edible Uses

An infusion of the bark is used as a condiment in the preparation of soup[].

The thin fleshy part of the fruits is edible, but not very palatable[]

The roots are applied in the fermentation process to make beer[].

Medicinal

The fruits are taken as a mild laxative, but can have a strong purgative action[].

In traditional medicine the root extracts and dried powdered roots are used both internally and externally. Taken internally, they are used for the treatment of gastro-intestinal disturbances, cancer, miscarriage and jaundice[].
They are applied externally to treat ulcers, leprosy, wounds, arthritis, snakebites, headache, toothache and gonorrhoea[].
The fruits, bark and roots are used as a purgative (in soup) also as a tonic for anaemia[].

The leaves are used to treat diarrhoea[].

Research on the root-bark has isolated several compounds in the roots and rootbark. These include triterpenoids, naphthoquinones and napthoquinone dimers and trimers: 7-methyljuglone (juglone being the main colorant in walnuts, Juglans species), isodiospyrin, and flavonoids[].
One of the triterpenoid compounds and 7-methyljuglone showed cytotoxicity, the latter against a wider range of cell lines than the former[].
Chemical investigation of the aerial parts of the plant resulted in the isolation of 4 flavonoid compounds: (+)-catechin, glycosides of aromadendrin, quercetin and myricetin[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Because of its tolerance of high arsenic soil levels, this species can be used in the reclamation of gold mine pit wastes[].
The plant is particularly common on arsenical soils, which are often associated with gold deposits or reefs, and it has been suggested that this species may have value as an indicator of the presence of gold[].

Other Uses

The bark contains tannins and is used to produce fast reddish-brown dyes[]. The roots are used to dye the various vegetable fibres used in the weaving of mats, baskets etc into various shades of brown and even black when a mordant of iron-rich mud is applied after dyeing[]. When used for dyeing, the roots are dug up and beaten to bruise the bark. Approximately equal quantities of fresh roots and palm leaves or other fibres are required. The fibres and textiles to be dyed are simply left for some time in the boiling extract and subsequently dried[]. Depending on how long the fibre to be dyed is left in the boiling dye extract, the colour obtained can range from pale to dark brown or black[].
The root-bark contains a rich combination of dyeing compounds making this species an interesting fast dye that can be used with or without the addition of metallic salts as mordants, due to the mordanting effect of the tannins present in the plant[]. Research on the root-bark done in Zimbabwe resulted in the isolation of naphthoquinones and napthoquinone dimers and trimers: 7-methyljuglone (juglone being the main colourant in walnuts, Juglans species), isodiospyrin, and flavonoids which contribute together to the dyeing properties of the plant[].
The roots are chewed as a disinfectant and to colour the lips and mouth red[].
The fruits are used as a purple dye for basket fibres by the Kwanyama Ovambos of northern Namibia and also boiled to produce purple ink[]. The fruits, mixed with those of Berchemia discolour, are crushed and boiled with palm leaf strips and the mixture is allowed to stand for one to several days to produce a purplish-brown dye to decorate baskets[]. Used alone and without mordant, they give a purple colour that is less fast than the darker colour obtained with the mixture[].

The roots and twigs are popular as toothbrushes[]. Some evidence exists that the twigs not only clean the teeth but also inhibit growth of teeth-attacking bacteria because of their high polyphenolic content[, ].

The plant is used to purify drinking water[]. The branches are added to the gourds or pots of water and then left to soak in the water for several hours[].
This is one of the species used in the treatment of milk to increase its digestibility, palatability and preservation; sometimes treated milk can be stored for over a year without turning bad, which is vital to the household food security[].

The wood is white with brown spots and is heavy, hard and strong. The sapwood is pinkish to cream-coloured, turning apricot colour on exposure to air[]. The wood is used for building poles, tool handles, spoons and carving[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[, ].

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is necessary[]. Fresh seed germinates readily[]. The seed only has a short viability in normal store, losing viability within about 2 months[].
Suckers.

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