Common Name:

General Information

Gnidia latifolia is a large, much-branched shrub growing up to 5 metres tall, sometimes becoming a small tree with whippy branches[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of fibre. The plant has effective insect repellant and pesticidal properties.

Known Hazards

The leaves and stems are poisonous, and grass growing underneath the plant is not eaten by livestock[]. The young leaves are said to be used for making poison[].
The compounds gnidilatin and gnidilatidin, found in the stem wood, are poisonous to fish[].

Botanical References

Range

East tropical Africa - ?Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania.

Habitat

Deciduous and evergreen bushland and wooded grassland, at elevations from sea level to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	4.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant can flower all year round[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

An extract of the bark or root is drunk as a purgative[].

The diterpenoid esters gnidilatin 20-palmitate and gnidilatidin 20-palmitate, isolated from the stem wood and bark, have shown strong in-vivo inhibitory activity against P-388 leukaemia in mice[].
Other compounds isolated from the stem wood and bark are gnidilatin, showing moderate antileukaemic activity, gnidilatidin, and the furanosesquiterpene gnididione[].

Other Uses

The bark yields a strong fibre that is made into rope[].

Plant material is placed around seedlings in order to keep termites away, whilst plant parts are burned to produce a pesticidal smoke[].

Stems and branches are used for building and fencing in Kenya, because they are never attacked by termites[].

Propagation

Seed -

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