There is disagreement over the correct name for this species. We are following the treatment in the 'World Checklist of Selected Plnt Families (in review), but some botanists place it in the genus Pierreodendron, as Pierreodendron grandifolium Engl.[].
Pierreodendron kerstingii (Engl.) Little is also placed here as a synonym, but is seen as a distinct species in some works. If it is confirmed as distinct, then the two species have distinct ranges - this one from Cote D'Ivoire to Nigeria and the other species from Nigeria to DR Congo and Angola. This species is also a larger tree, the other more shrub like or a smaller tree[]. Plant uses should be the same for both species[].

Common Name:

General Information

Quassia grandifolia is an erect, evergreen, unbranched shrub to 3 metres tall, or a more or less straggling tree with a wide crown; it can grow up to 30 metres tall. The bole is short in specimens with a more easterly range, but long and clear, up to 60cm in diameter in the west of the range[, , ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and pesticide.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Cote D'Ivoire to Cameroon and DR Congo, south to Angola.

Habitat

Forests at low elevations[]. Wet evergreen and dry deciduous forest, with comparatively few trees in intermediate types of forest[].

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The fruit peel and leaves are used as a tonic[].

The seed oil is used as a lotion against lice[].

The stem bark contains quassinoids with antineoplastic properties. The main quassinoid compound is glaucarubin[].
The stem bark also contains indole alkaloids, which have anticancer and antimicrobial properties[].
An alcohol extract of the stem bark showed significant activity in vivo against leukaemia and human throat cancer cells in vitro[].

Other Uses

The plant is often used as an insecticide and rat poison[].
The fruits are pounded, mixed with boiled yam and palm oil, and used as a bait to kill rats[].
Whole seeds, with salt added, are equally efficient at killing rats[].

The wood is a clear pale yellow, and soft and fine[]. No uses are recorded.

Propagation

Seed -

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