Quassia africana
(Baill.) Baill.
Simaroubaceae
Common Name:
General Information
Quassia africana is a shrub or undershrub growing 1.2 - 4 metres tall[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
The plant is gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
West tropical Africa - Cameroon to eastern Zaire, south to northern Angola.
Habitat
In the understorey of rainforests and shady, humid woods at elevations of 5 - 500 metres[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Shrub |
| Height | 3.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
A plant of the lowland, humid tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 500 metres[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
The leaves and the bark of the root are very bitter[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. They are used as a tonic, as an appetizer and also as a vermifuge[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
Chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of the plant have shown pronounced antiviral activity against Herpes simplex, Semliki forest, Coxsackie and Vesicular stomatitis viruses. This activity was produced, at least in part, by the quassinoid simakikalactone D[
496- Title
- Antiviral activity of simalikalactone D, a quassinoid from Quassia africana.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Apers S.; Cimanga K. Et al
- Website
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11842321
- Publisher
- Planta Med.
- Year
- 2002
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A research paper into the antiviral activity of quassinoids present in Quassia africana. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
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.
