If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Strychnos decussata

(Pappe) Gilg

Loganiaceae

+ Synonyms

Atherstonea decussata Pappe

Strychnos atherstonei Harv.

Strychnos boinensis Jum. & H.Perrier

Common Name:

Strychnos decussata
Fruiting branch
Photograph by: Désiré Ravelonarivo
Creative Commons License
Strychnos decussata Strychnos decussata Strychnos decussata Strychnos decussata

General Information

Strychnos decussata is a small to medium tree with a dense, multi-stemmed crown; it can grow 3 - 12 metres tall[
295
Title
PlantZAfrica.com
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.plantzafrica.com
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
]. The bole can be 30 - 45cm in diameter[
494
Title
Report on the Natal Forests
Publication
 
Author
Fourcade H.G.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Wm. ;, Natal
Year
1889
ISBN
 
Description
Contains a list of the trees of Natal, with a brief listing of their uses, including many traditional uses. The report can be downloaded from the Internet.
].
The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of timber.

Known Hazards

Various parts of Strychnos plants, especially the seeds and bark, contain toxic alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine. The fleshy pulp of the ripe fruits, however, is often edible[
500
Title
Flora of Somalia
Publication
 
Author
Thulin M. (Editor)
Publisher
Kew Publishing, London.
Year
1993
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses.
].
The bark and fruits are poisonous, especially when green[
295
Title
PlantZAfrica.com
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.plantzafrica.com
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
].

Botanical References

308
Title
Flora Zambesiaca
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.

Range

Eastern Africa - Somalia to S. Africa.

Habitat

Rocky slopes and on stream banks[
295
Title
PlantZAfrica.com
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.plantzafrica.com
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
]. In woodlands, often near rocks, sometimes on river banks[
308
Title
Flora Zambesiaca
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
]. In Madagascar it is often found in dry forests and bushes on limestone[
308
Title
Flora Zambesiaca
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitTree
Height10.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Established plants are drought tolerant[
295
Title
PlantZAfrica.com
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.plantzafrica.com
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
].

Edible Uses

The pulp of ripe fruits is eaten raw[
335
Title
Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory
Publication
 
Author
Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M.
Publisher
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Year
1987
ISBN
 
Description
A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
].

Medicinal

Although toxic, the roots and bark are used in traditional medicine as a treatment for stomach problems[
295
Title
PlantZAfrica.com
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.plantzafrica.com
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
].

Other Uses

The reddish-brown wood is rather coarse-grained, hard, heavy, strong, moderately elastic and tough[
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.
,
494
Title
Report on the Natal Forests
Publication
 
Author
Fourcade H.G.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Wm. ;, Natal
Year
1889
ISBN
 
Description
Contains a list of the trees of Natal, with a brief listing of their uses, including many traditional uses. The report can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. The wood is not durable, as it is liable to dry rot and gets worm-eaten[
494
Title
Report on the Natal Forests
Publication
 
Author
Fourcade H.G.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Wm. ;, Natal
Year
1889
ISBN
 
Description
Contains a list of the trees of Natal, with a brief listing of their uses, including many traditional uses. The report can be downloaded from the Internet.
]. It is used for rural utensils, staves for coppers' works etc[
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.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-14. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Strychnos+decussata>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.