Holarrhena floribunda

Holarrhena floribunda
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Apocynoideae
Tribe: Malouetieae
Genus: Holarrhena
Species: H. floribunda
Binomial name
Holarrhena floribunda
(G.Don) T.Durand & Schinz
Synonyms[1]
  • Holarrhena africana A.DC.
  • Holarrhena ovata A.DC.
  • Holarrhena wulfsbergii Stapf
  • Rondeletia floribunda G.Don

Holarrhena floribunda grows as a shrub or tree up to 25 metres (82 ft) tall, with a stem diameter of up to 30 centimetres (12 in). Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla. Fruit is pale grey to dark brown with paired follicles, each up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long. Vernacular names for the plant include "false rubber tree" and "kurchi bark". H. floribunda is found in a variety of habitats from sea-level to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude. The plant's numerous local medicinal uses include as a treatment for dysentery, diarrhoea, fever, snakebite, infertility, venereal disease, diabetes and malaria. H. floribunda has been used as arrow poison.[2] The plant is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Holarrhena floribunda". The Plant List. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Medicinal Plants. PROTA. 2008. pp. 329–332. ISBN 978-9-05782-204-9.
  3. ↑ Search for "Holarrhena floribunda", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 17 August 2013

External links