Handroanthus subtilis
(Sprague & Sandwith) S.O.Grose
Bignoniaceae
Tabebuia subtilis Sprague & Sandwith
Common Name:
General Information
Handroanthus subtilis is a tree that can grow up to 15 metres tall[
2095- Title
- Bignoniaceae: Part II (Tribe Tecomeae)
- Publication
- Flora Neotropica Monograph Vol. 25, No. 2 pp 1-370
- Author
- Gentry A.H.
- Publisher
- The New York Botanical Garden, New York
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-89327-368-6
- Description
-
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
2095- Title
- Bignoniaceae: Part II (Tribe Tecomeae)
- Publication
- Flora Neotropica Monograph Vol. 25, No. 2 pp 1-370
- Author
- Gentry A.H.
- Publisher
- The New York Botanical Garden, New York
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-89327-368-6
- Description
-
Range
Northern S. America - Guyana, southeast Venezuela
Habitat
Forest margins and in upland savannah gallery forest; at elevations from 420 - 1,700 metres[
2095- Title
- Bignoniaceae: Part II (Tribe Tecomeae)
- Publication
- Flora Neotropica Monograph Vol. 25, No. 2 pp 1-370
- Author
- Gentry A.H.
- Publisher
- The New York Botanical Garden, New York
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-89327-368-6
- Description
-
].
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Tree |
| Height | 12.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
The bark is scraped, soaked in water overnight and the liquid drunk as a purgative[
348- Title
- Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
- Publication
-
- Author
- DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
- Website
- http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
- Publisher
- Smithsonian Museum
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].
We have no further specific information for this species, but the inner bark of the various Handroanthus species has been shown to contain several pharmacologically active compounds. In particular, the bark has astringent and anti-inflammatory properties and several species are used to treat skin disorders, fungal infections, wounds etc, as well as a various inflammatory diseases, cancer etc[
238- Title
- Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Bown. D.
- Publisher
- Dorling Kindersley, London.
- Year
- 1995
- ISBN
- 0-7513-020-31
- Description
- A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
,
254- Title
- The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
- Publication
-
- Author
- Chevallier. A.
- Publisher
- Dorling Kindersley. London
- Year
- 1996
- ISBN
- 9-780751-303148
- Description
- An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
].
The bark contains the naphthoquinones lapachol and beta-lapachone. These compounds have a range of medicinal activities, including antitumor activity, but when isolated from the whole bark and used in the quantities required to treat conditions such as cancer, they have also shown unacceptable levels of toxicity towards the body.
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
