Common Name:

General Information

Strophanthus welwitschii is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 5 metres tall, sometimes adopting a climbing habit with stems up to 8 metres long. The stems are usually up to 10cm in diameter, exceptionally to 40cm, and the plant often produces stolons[, ].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

Known Hazards

The seeds are used to produce arrow poison[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Tanzania, southern DR Congo, Angola, Zambia.

Habitat

Woodland, often in rocky localities and gallery forest, at elevations from 300 - 1,800 metres[, ].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	4.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A seed decoction is administered orally to treat respiratory diseases in children[].

A root infusion is drunk to treat gonorrhoea, but excessive usage is dangerous and can even be fatal[].
Root powder, mixed with oil, is rubbed in to treat scabies[].

The amount of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) in the seeds varies throughout the area of distribution; seeds from Zambia are less bitter than those from Angola and contain hardly any glycosides. Seeds from Angola contain intermedioside, panstroside, inertoside and leptoside. All glycosides except inertoside are highly toxic[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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