Common Name:

General Information

Gnidia glauca is a large, much-branched shrub that can grow up to 6 metres tall, or can become a tree that grows up to 15 metres tall, exceptionally to 24 metres[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, source of fibre and insecticide. It is a good kindling for starting fires.

Known Hazards

The bark is made into arrow poison. It is boiled in water for several hours and the residue is smeared on arrow tips[].
The stem, bark and leaves are used as a fish poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Nigeria to Sudan, south to Malawi and Zambia; E. Asia - southern India, Sri Lanka.

Habitat

Forest margins and associated bushland or wooded grassland, on rocky grassy slopes and around stream beds; sometimes locally dominant in secondary forest; at elevations from 950 - 3,300 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	8.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the boiled root is drunk as a treatment of indigestion. The root powder, mixed with skimmed milk, is taken orally for seven days for the treatment of rabies[].

The bark and leaves are used for the treatment of blisters, swellings and contusions[].

An alcohol extract of the root showed strong in-vivo inhibitory activity against P-388 leukaemia in mice[].
Extracts of the fresh bark exhibited larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti[].
Leaf extracts exhibited some insecticidal activity against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi, Culex pipiens pallens, Culex quinquefasciatus, Plutella xylostella and Spodoptera litura, and fungicidal activity against Venturia inaequalis[].
Aqueous extracts of the leaf showed some antifeedant activity against the armyworm Helicoverpa armigera[].
The leaf and twig were found to contain alkaloids[].

Other Uses

A strong fibre is obtained from the bark. It is made into rope and thread[].

Leaf extracts are used as an insecticide[].
The whole plant, ground into a powder, is used as an insecticide[].

The bark is used for lighting fire[].

Propagation

Seed -

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