There has been considerable confusion by botanists over this species, Quassia sylvestris and Quassia gabonensis, with all three at one time being treated as one species (as Quassia undulata). More recent research ('Two new names in West-Central African Quassia L. [Simaroubaceae]'; Martin Cheek & Carel C. H, Jongkind, Kew Bulletin Vol. 63 247-250 []) has concluded that these species are distinct, and this is the treatment that is followed here[].

Common Name: Mjoho

General Information

Mjoho is very variable in habit, ranging from a shrub up to a small or fairly large tree with a high crown. A fast-growing, usually evergreen plant, it usually grows 6 - 8 metres tall, sometime up to 12 metres. The bole is seldom more than 3.5 metres without branches and can be up to 50cm in diameter[].
A traditional medicinal plant in Africa, the plant is also used for food, timber, oil and insecticide. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental[].

Known Hazards

The seed is said to be poisonous to livestock, but it loses its toxicity on drying[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal eastward to Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

Habitat

Open grassland, wooded grassland, thickets and mountain grassland, at elevations up to 2,500 metres[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A tree of the tropics, being found at low to moderate elevations.
Requires a sunny position[].
A fast-growing species, 5-year-old saplings were recorded to be on average 4.1 metres tall, but some trees were already 3.5 metres tall after only 2 years[]. Mean annual increments in diameter of about 1.2 cm have been recorded[].
Seeds are likely to be dispersed by animals and by water, the seeds being buoyant[].
As it is light demanding, regeneration in savannah conditions is better than in forest conditions. It soon colonizes clearings and old farm land[].
The tree can be coppiced and pollarded[].
The plant is tolerant to fire[].

Edible Uses

The fruit is recorded as being eaten, although various sources claim it is not edible[].

The seed cake is eaten[].

Medicinal

Mjoho is a bitter-tasting plant that is often used in African traditional medicine[]. Modern research has shown the presence of various medically active substances in the plant[].
Stem, stem bark and root bark extracts, and various quassinoids isolated from the plant, have shown antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei[].
The quassinoid 15-desacetylundulatone, isolated from the root bark, has shown antitumor activity against P388 mouse lymphocytic leukaemia cells and colon 38 adenocarcinoma[].
Eniotorin, a coumarin also isolated from the root bark, has shown antimalarial properties in vitro[].
Alkaloids have been isolated from the root bark[].
Hexane and methanol extracts of the leaves and stems exhibited marked antibacterial and antifungal activities, inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus niger, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis[].
The quassinoid chaparrinone has shown in-vitro antiviral activity against the carcinogenic Rous sarcoma virus (RSV)[].

The stem bark or root bark are considered to be antidote and purgative; as well as a treatment against leprosy[]. A decoction is drunk as a treatment against fever, cough and stomach complaints such as colic[, ].
A maceration or decoction of the stem bark is used as a wash for children to prevent abscesses[].
A maceration or decoction of the stem bark, root bark, combined with the leaves, is drunk or used in baths in cases of insanity or dementia[].
Sap from the root bark, diluted in water, is used as an enema against stomach problems[].

Root extracts are used for eye treatments and as aphrodisiac[].

A decoction of leaves is used as a stimulant and for the treatment of rickets, ankylosis and varicose veins[].

The fruit is used as a treatment against nocturnal enuresis[].
A mixture of the ground fruit or kernel, mixed with oil, is rubbed into the hair against head lice[]. The ash of the burnt fruit, mixed with shea butter, is used similarly[].

The seed is considered poisonous, but in Nigeria it is taken against fever[].

Other Uses

The seed and oil from the seed are used in soap making[]. The seed yields 56% oil, with as main fatty acids: oleic acid (46 - 61%), stearic acid (20 - 26%), palmitic acid (8 - 11%) and linoleic acid (8 - 10%)[].

A paste of the boiled bark and pulped seed is used in Nigeria as a hair pomade, and in Zimbabwe women use the seed oil similarly[].

A seed extract has shown insecticidal and arachnicidal properties[]. The quassinoid fraction of the seed (a mixture of chaparrinone, glaucarubolone and klaineanone) inhibits penetration of Meloidogyne javanica into tomato roots and reduces reproduction of the nematode[].

The heartwood is greyish white to pale yellow, somewhat lustrous, and is not clearly differentiated from the sapwood[]. The wood is straight-grained, light, soft, not strong, fibrous and occasionally brittle[, ]. It saws easily and works well with hand and machine tools. It planes to a nice surface, moulds well and sands well, but sanding must be done perpendicular to the direction of the fibres. It does not split on nailing and holds nails and screws well. It drills easily. The peeling and slicing properties are excellent, but the wood is too soft for turning. It glues and finishes well. The wood is not durable, being susceptible to attacks by fungi, marine borers and termites. The heartwood is resistant to impregnation with preservatives, the sapwood is permeable[].
It is mainly suitable for indoor construction, on account of its low durability, and for the production of shipping crates to transport easily bruised or breakable products, such as machinery and fruit, because of its softness. It is also suitable for veneer, plywood and modelling. Locally it is used for house construction, planks, doors, ceilings, (painted) carpentry, musical instruments, toys, stools, carvings, troughs and canoes[, ]. Poles obtained from the tree are used in northern Ghana as yam supports. The wood is used to keep heavier wood of other species floating[].
It is used as fuel wood and for making charcoal, and for paper making[].

Propagation

Seed - for good germination, the seeds should be sown immediately after being collected, because they lose their viability rapidly[]. The seeds germinate in 6 - 22 days[]. Initial growth in the nursery is slow, with 5-month-old seedlings being only 11 - 12 cm tall[]. Seedlings are ready to be planted out when they are about 14 months old. They are planted in full sun in pure stands or mixed with other light-demanding and not too fast growing species[].

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Captcha: if i have 3 bananas, and i eat them all, how many bananas did i just eat?