Common Name:

General Information

Pleiocarpa pycnantha is an evergreen shrub or a tree, usually growing from 1.5 - 20 metres tall, exceptionally to 30 metres. The bole is up to 50cm in diameter[, , ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of wood.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Understorey of rainforest, gallery forest and montane forest, also in more open secondary formations; at elevations up to 2,300 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Usually found on sandy soils in the wild[].
Pleiocarpa pycnantha can be found flowering and fruiting throughout the year[].

Edible Uses

The roots are added to palm-wine to give it potency[].

Medicinal

The ground-up roots, combined with the seeds of Aframomum melegueta and palm wine, are taken as a laxative[, ]. The roots are chewed to stimulate sexual arousal[].

A maceration of the bitter leaves, combined with lemon juice, is administered to patients suffering from jaundice, oedema, reduced urine excretion and infection by roundworms[].

Numerous alkaloids have been reported from all parts of the plant[].
Some indole alkaloids have been isolated from Pleiocarpa pycnantha roots and bark, e.g. Pycnanthine, pleiocarpamine, quebrachamine and macusine B[].

Other Uses

The yellow to brown wood is hard and durable. It is used in local construction and to make combs, plane-blocks and sundry small objects. It is also used for carving to make items such as pipe-stems[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed -

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