Common Name: False Rubbertree

General Information

Holarrhena floribunda is an ornamental shrub or small tree with shining foliage and white fragrant flowers[]. It can grow up to 17 metres tall[]. Some specimens growing in Ghana have attained a height of 26 metres, whilst other specimens growing in savannah scrub may not surpass shrub-size of 1 - 2 metres[]. The bole can be up to 30cm in diameter[].
The tree has a wide range of medicinal uses, as well as supplying latex, wood and other materials[]. It is not normally planted in Africa, but if it is missing then farmers in Sierra Leone are said to broadcast seed and it is frequently found around villages[]. An attractive tree with fragrant, white flowers, it can be grown as an ornamental[].
In the relatively dry West African countries, the bark is overharvested and the species has become endangered. In the forest zone, it is still widespread and common, and not at risk of genetic erosion[].
Holarrhena floribunda has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified.The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

Most members of the family Apocynaceae are poisonous, therefore H. floribunda material should be handled carefully especially for medicinal purposes[].
The latex has been used as arrow poison or fish poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Senegal to Sudan, south to Congo and DR Congo.

Habitat

Deciduous forest; open localities in dense forest, woodland and savannah; also in secondary regeneration; on clay, sand, lateritic soils or rocky outcrops, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,000 metres[, ].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	15.00 m
Pollinators	Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of low elevations in the moist to wet tropics, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,000 metres[].
Grows best in a sunny position[]. Found in the wild on a wide range of soils[].
The plant coppices well, and can survive bush fires by producing suckers from burned-down stumps[].
Bushy shrubs on hard, poor soils contain the highest levels of medically active compounds, especially conessine. The conessine content of the stem bark and leaves increases as a function of the stem diameter. The yield of a 5-year-old plantation was estimated at 975 kg/ha of stem bark and 7.8 kg/ha of conessine. The maximum content is attained at 8 - 12 years[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The tree yields a large number of alkaloids[]. Total alkaloids are greatest in the roots (2%), decreasing in the stem bark (1·0 - 1·5%) with least in the leaves and flowers (< 1·0%)[]. There is also seasonal variation.
Of all the alkaloids present, conessine has attracted special attention for its antidysenteric and antiamoebic properties[]. It is claimed to be as effective as emetine and active in cases resistant to the latter and even on the cysts and to be less toxic[]. It is also hypotensive and a cardiac depressant[].
The alkaloid holarrhenine, also found in the plant, has narcotic and local anaesthetic properties, but in contrast is also an irritant[].
Recent work has shown interesting development in the isolation of steroidal hormones, and in particular of progesterone, a so-called ‘sex-hormone’ and a precursor of hydrocortisone[].

The bark is widely known as a cure for dysentery and diarrhoea. It is taken in decoction or macerated in palm-wine both as a prevention and as a cure for dysentery and fever[, ].
An infusion of the bark is commonly used as a substitute for quinine in the treatment of malaria, although alkaloids extracted from the root-bark have not proved antimalarial[].
A decoction of the bark, taken as an enema and also in baths, is used to treat certain skin-affections[, ].

The roots are diuretic, and are also used as a cure for dysentery and diarrhoea[, ]. An aqueous macerate is taken for treating general stomach-complaints, including constipation and colic[, ]. A decoction of the roots is given to women as an antiabortifacient[]. It is also used for the treatment of urethral discharge and gonorrhoea[].

The leaves are diuretic[]. They are used in an antimalarial treatment where they are boiled and the liquor is drunk and also added to a bath[, ]. The leaves are also held to be good for the treatment of diarrhoea and amenorrhoea[, ]. They are used in a mixture with kola nut which is eaten for treating gonorrhoea[, ].
The leaves, combined in water with the leaves of Myrianthus arboreus and the fruits of Capsicum peppe, are applied as an enema against kidney pain[].
The leaf sap is sprinkled on wounds as a haemostatic

The fruit husk is used to prepare a remedy for dropsy[, ].

A latex from the plant is applied externally to snakebites[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The trees are sometimes retained when the forest is cleared so that they can provide shade for cacao plantations[].

Other Uses

The young stems are flexible and can be bent to make the crook handle of a walking-stick[]. It is suitable for shaving into wood-wool for packing fruit[].

The floss from the fruit is used for filling pillows[, ].

The bark yields a copious white sticky latex which is resinous, but is of inferior quality[]. It can be used as a glue[]. The tree is known as the 'false rubber tree' and its latex has been used to adulterate good latices[]. The tree may be confused, accidentally or wilfully, with Funtumia elastica, which is the 'true rubber tree' of West Africa. H. Floribunda can be recognized by its bark-slash which is thin, soft, granular and very distinctly and characteristically layered[].

The wood is soft and uniformly white with no distinction between sapwood and heartwood[, ]. The grain is straight[]. The wood is perishable and is not resistant to termites[, ]. It works well; takes nails well[]. It is used traditionally for carvings, combs, spoons, stirrers for the rice-pot and handles for axes and small implements[]. In Ghana it is considered by the stool-carvers to be the best white wood available and is also used in Ivory Coast for making carved stools[]. It is also suitable for house construction and packing cases[]. The stems are used for the construction of granaries in Benin, as they are easy to work and resistant to the beetle Prostephanus truncatus, a pest of stored grain[].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - easy to germinate, fresh seed has a high germination rate but loses its viability within 12 months[].
Suckers.
Small diameter cuttings[].

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