Strychnos spinosa

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Strychnos spinosa
Strychnos spinosa tree.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Loganiaceae
Genus: Strychnos
Species:
S. spinosa
Binomial name
Strychnos spinosa

Strychnos spinosa, the Natal orange, [1] also called Mokotra in Madagascar, is a tree indigenous to tropical and subtropical Africa. It produces sweet-sour, yellow fruits, containing numerous hard brown seeds. Greenish-white flowers grow in dense heads at the ends of branches (Sep-Feb/Spring - summer). The fruits tend to appear only after good rains. It is related to the deadly Strychnos nux-vomica , which contains strychnine. The smooth, hard fruit are large and green, ripen to yellow colour. Inside the fruit are tightly packed seeds, which may be toxic, surrounded by a fleshy, brown, edible covering.

Contents

Animals such as baboon, monkeys, bushpig, nyala and eland eat the fruit. The leaves are a popular food source for browsers such as duiker, kudu, impala, steenbok, nyala and elephant. [2]

Distribution

This tree can be found growing singly in well-drained soils. It is found in bushveld, riverine fringes, sand forest and coastal bush from the Eastern Cape to Kwazulu-Natal, northwards to Mozambique, and inland to Eswatini, Zimbabwe, parts of Zambia specifically the western part of Zambia since it is sandy and some parts of southern province of Zambia , northern Botswana, northern Namibia, Angola, Guinea Bissau, to tropical Africa, north west Madagascar, south east Madagascar at Sainte Luce Reserve, Southern Kenya on the lower parts of Eastern arc mountains, north west Ethiopia, and western Tigray at Kafta Sheraro National Park. It is able to grow in semi-arid and arid lands.

Traditional medicine

The plant, taken alone or in conjunction with extracts of other plants, is used by the Tiv people of Nigeria for snakebites, venereal disease, increasing the flow of breastmilk in lactating mothers, and enhancing physical strength.[ citation needed ]

Chemistry

An iridoid, sarracenin, has been isolated from the root bark of Strychnos spinosa. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Strychnos nux-vomica</i> Species of plant

Strychnos nux-vomica, the strychnine tree, also known as nux vomica, poison fruit, semen strychnos, and quaker buttons, is a deciduous tree native to India and to southeast Asia. It is a medium-sized tree in the family Loganiaceae that grows in open habitats. Its leaves are ovate and 5–9 centimetres (2–3.5 in) in size. It is known for being the natural source of the extremely poisonous compound strychnine.

<i>Strychnos</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Loganiaceae

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<i>Kigelia</i> Genus of trees

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<i>Strychnos pungens</i> Species of plant

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<i>Ximenia americana</i> Species of tree

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<i>Uapaca kirkiana</i> Species of fruit and plant

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<i>Balanites aegyptiaca</i> Species of tree

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<i>Flacourtia indica</i> Species of fruit and plant

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<i>Treculia africana</i> Species of tree

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<i>Cordia sinensis</i> Species of tree

Cordia sinensis is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae. The species’ range extend from South Africa, through East Africa, Madagascar, West Africa and the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent and Eastern Indochina. There is also a disjunct native population in Senegal. The species has become naturalised in Eastern Australia. Common names include grey-leaved saucer berry, grey-leaved cordia, marer, mnya mate, mkamasi and tadana.

<i>Croton gratissimus</i> Species of shrub

Croton gratissimus, is a tropical African shrub or small tree with corky bark, growing to 8 m and belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceae or spurges. Young twigs are slender and angular and covered in silver and rust-coloured scales.

<i>Pappea</i> Genus of trees

Pappea capensis is a South African tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is the only species in the genus Pappea.

Zanha golungensis, commonly known as the smooth-fruited zanha, is a species of plant in the family Sapindaceae that is native to Africa. It is used locally for timber and herbal medicine.

<i>Strychnos madagascariensis</i> Species of tree


Strychnos madagascariensis, the black monkey orange, is an African tropical and sub-tropical tree belonging to the Loganiaceae family. It is a tree with characteristically large fruit but can confused with some other species of the genus.

<i>Landolphia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Landolphia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1806. They take the form of vines that scramble over host trees. Landolphia is native to tropical Africa.

<i>Maesa lanceolata</i> Species of tree

Maesa lanceolata, the false assegai, is a tree species that is widespread in the Afrotropics, including Madagascar. It occurs from the southern Arabian Peninsula, southwards to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It grows on stream verges, river banks and forest verges, where it is often a pioneer plant.

<i>Raphia farinifera</i> Species of palm

Raphia farinifera is a tropical African palm tree occurring in lowland riparian and swamp forest, also around human habitations and cultivated locations, on stream banks and other moist situations at altitudes of 50–1000 m. Found in Angola, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and naturalised in east lowlands of Madagascar. Its generic epithet is derived from raphis = 'needle', probably in reference to the 4 mm long yellowish spines on the margins and main veins of the leaflets. The specific name refers to a type of starchy flour obtained from the trunk pith – farina = 'starch', fera = 'bearing'.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Strychnos spinosa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. Pasternak, Dov; Schlissel, Arnold, eds. (2001). Combating Desertification with Plants. Boston, MA: Springer US. p. 35. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1327-8. ISBN   978-1-4613-5499-4. S2CID   21504405.
  3. Tor-Anyiin T. A; Igoli J. O; Anyam J. V; et al. (April 2015). "ISOLATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF SARRACENIN FROM ROOT BARK OF (Strychnos spinosa Lam.)". J. Chem.Soc.Nigeria. 40 (1): 71–75.