This species is closely related to both Pycnocoma cornuta and Pycnocoma angustifolia. Intermediate forms between the three species exist, indicating that they could all be part of the same species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Pycnocoma macrophylla is a shrub growing up to 3 metres tall[].
Although poisonous, the plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

The plant is very poisonous and has sometimes been used for criminal poisoning[]. Ingestion causes immediate and prolonged intestinal shock[].
Although all parts of the plant are strongly purgative, the plant has local medicinal uses[].
The plant is used s a fish poison[, ].

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, DR Congo.

Habitat

Undergrowth in high forest at elevations from 500 - 750 metres[, ].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	2.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The flowers have a strong, repellent smell[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The root bark is strongly purgative[]. It is considered to be too strong a medicine to administer to children[]. To stop the purging, an adult patient to whom the root has been administered is given raw [?oil-]palm nut to eat[].

The stem bark is ground, mixed with water and lemon juice and drunk as an emetic[].

Highly active protein kinase C-agonizing compounds were isolated from the leaves and identified as esters of the diterpenoid 11,18-dehydro-phorbol and of 4,12-dideoxy-16-hydroxy-phorbol. These phorbol derivatives stimulated the central nervous system by markedly inhibiting amphetamine-induced locomotor activity in mice[].

A root extract exhibited antitumor activity in the P388 lymphocytic leukaemia test; scopoletin was found to be partly responsible for this effect[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The natural presence of the plant is held to be an indication of poor soil[].

Other Uses

The fruits are used for tanning[].

The wood is used to make boys' spinning tops[].

Propagation

Seed -

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