Strychnos floribunda
Gilg
Loganiaceae
Strychnos henriquesiana Gilg
Strychnos littoralis A.Chev. ex Hutch. & Dalziel
Strychnos malifolia Baker
Strychnos marquesi Baker
Strychnos microcarpa Baker
Strychnos moloneyi Baker
Strychnos subscandens Baker
Strychnos welwitschii Gilg
Common Name:
General Information
Strychnos floribunda is a vigorous climbing shrub producing stems that can be up to 30 metres long and 13cm in diameter. The stems grow up into the forest canopy, attaching themselves by means of tendrils[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
,
455- Title
- Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
- Publication
-
- Author
- Humbert H.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
- Year
- 1946 - 1984
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.
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.
].
Botanical References
455- Title
- Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
- Publication
-
- Author
- Humbert H.
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
- Publisher
- Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle; Paris
- Year
- 1946 - 1984
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Written in French, an excellent flora of the area though it has not been completed. Available for download from the Internet.
,
515- Title
- Flora of Tropical Africa Vol 1 - 8
- Publication
-
- Author
- Var
- Website
- http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
- Publisher
- L.Reeve & Co.; Ashford, Kent.
- Year
- 1868 - 1917
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Very little information on habitat, range and uses, but gives good descriptions of the plants. It can be downloaded from the internet.
,
2064- Title
- Loganiaceae
- Publication
- Flore d’Afrique centrale (Zaïre - Rwanda - Burundi), Spermatophytes
- Author
- Leeuwenberg A.J.M. & Bamps P.
- Website
- http://10.5281/zenodo.4569937
- Publisher
- Meise, Jardin botanique national de Belgique
- Year
- 1979
- ISBN
-
- Description
- This publication, along with many other from the Flore d’Afrique centrale, has been made available as a PDF document under a Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share Alike 4.0 International licence (CC-BY-NC-SA)
Range
West tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to the Central African Republic, south to Angola, northern Madagascar.
Habitat
Dense rainforest, also in more open secondary forest, often on river banks; at elevations from sea-level up to 800 metres[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
,
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Climber |
| Height | 25.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal
A decoction of the stem and root bark is taken to treat kidney diseases[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Applied externally, the decoction is used as a wash to treat palpitations[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
A decoction of the stem bark, in palm oil, is applied in small amounts to the tongue to treat palpitations, tachycardia and other symptoms of heart disease[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
A maceration of the root wood is taken to treat oedema[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The stem bark contains several indole alkaloids and the common sterols β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol.[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
One of the alkaloids, bisnordihydrotoxiferine, is known to exhibit antimicrobial activity in vivo and has shown in-vivo antidiarrhoeal activity[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Two other alkaloids, decussine and rouhamine, have a pronounced muscle-relaxant activity[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Stem bark extracts have shown muscle-relaxant and convulsive effects, and have also shown antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
