Mystroxylon aethiopicum is treated here in a broad sense. It is a very variable species and many of its forms have been given specific names. All these forms, however, appear to be interconnected by intermediates, so that it does not seem possible at present to recognise more than one species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Mystroxylon aethiopicum is a usually evergreen shrub or a tree with a narrow crown; it usually grows from 2 - 12 metres tall, but exceptionally can reach 20 metres[, , ]. The bole is short, with plants often branching from ground level[].
The bark is commonly harvested from the wild for medicinal use, being valued especially for its beneficial effect upon the stomach. It is amongst the most commonly used medicinal plants in Madagascar and is sold in local markets[]. The plant is also a local source of food, dyes and wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Africa - Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, eastern DR Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi. Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, S. Africa.

Habitat

Submontane evergreen forest, fringing forest, Brachystegia woodland, coastal woodland or savannah woodland; at elevations from sea level to around 2,100 metres[].

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, ]. A sweet edible pulp[]. The fruit is a bright red to purplish-red, globose to ovoid drupe up to 20mm in diameter[].

Crumbled and infused, the bark is much used in Kenya to make a tea that is also considered to be a good stomach-medicine[].

Medicinal

The green leaves are used pulped up on sores[].

The bark is antiabortifacient, diuretic, hypotensive, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. Crumbled and infused, it is much used in Kenya to make a tea that is considered to be a good stomach-medicine. Boiled in water with milk added it is given to young babies to treat a range of stomach conditions[]. The decoction is also used to prevent miscarriages, to treat pulmonary complaints, hypertension, urinary infections, gonorrhoea and anaemia[, ].

The plant is said to be free of alkaloids but to contain abundant leucanthocyanins and tannins, some saponins (not in the root bark) and a trace of sterols[].
Small traces of alkaloid in the leaves and twigs have been reported[].

Other Uses

The bark yields a brownish dye[, ].

The wood is used to make knob-kerries, wooden spoons, tool handles, for hut-construction and furniture[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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