The genus name has often been spelled Euodia[].

Common Name:

General Information

Evodia hortensis is a shrub or small tree; it can grow up to 4 metres tall[]. The bole is short, about 5cm in diameter.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and perfume. It is commonly planted in home gardens and around villages as an ornamental or ceremonial plant and boundary marker; it is also often planted in cemeteries or burial grounds[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australasia - New Guinea, perhaps also native to the southwest Pacific Islands.

Habitat

An understorey shrub in thickets, lowland forest, fallow forest, and tree groves; at elevations up to 600 metres[, ].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	3.50 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant flowers and produces fruit all year round[].
The plant has pungently aromatic leaves[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The leaves are antiinflammatory, emmenagogue, febrifuge and laxative. They are chewed as a remedy for toothache or stomach pains. An infusion is used to reduce fever[, ].
The crushed leaves are used to prepare a remedial bath[]. Liquid from the leaves is used as a remedy for swollen testicles[]. The leaves are crushed, mixed with oil and applied to sore gums[]. The leaves are also used to cure headache and earache, and are heated then rubbed onto bruises[].

The bark is sometimes part of an internal remedy that is used to relieve thrushlike conditions, to retard menstruation, and to relieve pain in childbirth[]. Fluid from the bark is used to treat a disease whose symptoms are yellow eyes and yellow urine[].
The bark may be chewed with betel nuts and rubbed onto aching body parts[].

Liquid from the stem is used in treating children with convulsions[].

The plant contains essential oils (caryophyllene, alpha-copaene, arcucumene), menthofuran, evodone, hortensol, berberine, furoquinoline and acridone alkaloids[].

Other Uses

The branches are placed near gardens to ward off pigs[].

The leaves are highly scented with a pleasing odour[]. When crushed between the fingers they give out a strong perfume, somewhat between a lemon scented verbena and a mint[]. They are used in several different ways to impart a pleasant smell to the body, either crushed and used to anoint the body, wrapped up and strung as necklaces, boiled in coco-nut oil and dried in the sun then worn, or merely dried without preparation and then worn; they are used especially by males when dancing in order to attract a female[, , ].
The leaves and flowers are used in garlands, worn behind the ear, and used to scent coconut oil[].

The leaves are sometimes used for scouring[].

Propagation

Seed -

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