Warburgia ugandensis

Last updated

Warburgia ugandensis
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Canellales
Family: Canellaceae
Genus: Warburgia
Species:
W. ugandensis
Binomial name
Warburgia ugandensis
Sprague
Synonyms

Warburgia breyeriPott

Warburgia ugandensis, also known as Ugandan greenheart, is a species of evergreen tree native to Africa. Countries in which the plant species is found include Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The wood is resistant to insect attack [1] and very strong. It was commonly used for the yoke pole of ox-wagons, the Disselboom. Early Indian immigrants to Kenya, working on the construction of the railway, used the leaves to flavor their curries before the chilli plant was commonly introduced. The flavor is fiercely hot and subtly different from chillies.

Extracts of W. ugandensis have been reported to show some antimalarial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties in vitro or in animal models. [1] [2]

Unsustainable overharvesting of the bark reduced the population of the longifolia subspecies to the Rondo Forest Reserve in Tanzania, which prompted the IUCN to list it as vulnerable in its Red List of Threatened Species. [3]

Related Research Articles

An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals are used against fungi. They can also be classified according to their function. Agents that kill microbes are microbicides, while those that merely inhibit their growth are called bacteriostatic agents. The use of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is known as antimicrobial chemotherapy, while the use of antimicrobial medicines to prevent infection is known as antimicrobial prophylaxis.

<i>Zanthoxylum</i> Family of shrubs and trees

Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in the subfamily Rutoideae. Several of the species have yellow heartwood, to which their generic name alludes.

<i>Terminalia catappa</i> Species of plant

Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific and Madagascar. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almond, tropical almond, beach almond and false kamani.

Mantled guereza Species of mammal

The mantled guereza, also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west central and east Africa, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Chad. The species consists of several subspecies that differ in appearance. It has a distinctive appearance, which is alluded to in its name; the long white fringes of hair that run along each side of its black trunk are known as a mantle. Its face is framed with white hair and it has a large white tail tuft.

<i>Curcuma amada</i> Species of flowering plant

Curcuma amada, or mango ginger is a plant of the ginger family Zingiberaceae and is closely related to turmeric. The rhizomes are very similar to common ginger but lack its pungency, and instead have a raw mango flavour. They are used in making pickles in south India and chutneys in north India. It is served as chutney in community feasts in Nepal's southern plains. Mango ginger and elephant foot yam pickle is popular in Nepal's southern plains. The taxonomy of the species is a subject of some confusion as some authorities have considered the name C. mangga as identical while others describe it as a distinct species with C. mangga being found in southern India while C. amada is of east Indian origin. Mango-ginger is a popular spice and vegetable due to its rich flavor, which is described as sweet with subtle earthy floral and pepper overtones and similar to that of raw mango. It is a delicious addition to salads and stir fries. It is used in South Asian and Southeast Asian as well as Far East Asian cuisines.

<i>Barringtonia acutangula</i> Species of plant

Barringtonia acutangula is a species of Barringtonia native to coastal wetlands in southern Asia and northern Australasia, from Afghanistan east to the Philippines, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Common names include freshwater mangrove, itchytree and mango-pine.

The Uganda nothobranch is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is found in Kenya and Uganda, also possibly in Tanzania. Its natural habitat is intermittent freshwater marshes.

<i>Mkilua</i> species of plant in the family Annonaceae

Mkilua is a genus of plant in the family Annonaceae. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania. It contains a single species, Mkilua fragrans. Bernard Verdcourt, the British botanist who first formally described the species, named it after the fragrance of its flowers which smell like lemon. It is commonly called Mkilua Mwitu, Kilua and Kiluwa in Swahili, and Kingade in Digo. Volatile oils extracted from its leaves, flowers, and aerial parts have been reported to be repellent to Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes which are vectors for the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Bioactive molecules extracted from its roots have been reported to have antimicrobial activity in tests with Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus aureus.

Warburgia elongata is a species of plant in the family Canellaceae. It is endemic to Tanzania.

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

Warburgia is a genus of plant in family Canellaceae described as a genus in 1895. It was named for the German botanist Otto Warburg. It is native to eastern and southern Africa.

<i>Warburgia salutaris</i> Species of tree

Warburgia salutaris is a species of tree in the family Canellaceae. It is found in eastern and southern African locations e.g. Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a popular medicinal plant and is overharvested in the wild, another reason for its endangerment. The Pepper-bark tree is a protected tree in South Africa. Various projects are investigating methods of propagation under controlled conditions with subsequent planting in the wild.

<i>Zanthoxylum americanum</i> Species of tree

Zanthoxylum americanum, the common prickly-ash, common pricklyash, common prickly ash or northern prickly-ash, is an aromatic shrub or small tree native to central and eastern portions of the United States and Canada. It is the northernmost New World species in the citrus family, Rutaceae, and is the type species in its genus, which includes sichuan pepper. It can grow to 10 meters (33 ft) tall with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 15 cm (5.9 in). It produces membranous leaflets and axillary flower clusters. The wood is not commercially valuable, but oil extracts from the bark have been used in traditional and alternative medicine, and have been studied for antifungal and cytotoxic properties. The genus name is sometimes spelled Xanthoxylum.

<i>Papilio nobilis</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio nobilis, the noble swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa.

<i>Zanthoxylum asiaticum</i>

Zanthoxylum asiaticum is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. Under its synonym Toddalia asiatica, it was the only species in the monotypic genus Toddalia, now included in Zanthoxylum. It is known by the English name orange climber.

<i>Combretum molle</i> Species of tree

Combretum molle, the velvet bushwillow, is a plant species in the genus Combretum found in West-, East- and South Africa.

Mallotus oppositifolius is a plant species in the genus Mallotus found in Africa and Madagascar.

Furoquinoline alkaloid

Furoquinoline alkaloids are a group of alkaloids with simple structure. Distribution of this group of alkaloids is essentially limited to plant family Rutaceae. The simplest member of this group is dictamnine and most widespread member is skimmianine.

<i>Croton megalocarpus</i> Species of flowering plant

Croton megalocarpus is a tree species in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is indigenous to ten countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique.

<i>Pteleopsis myrtifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Pteleopsis myrtifolia is one of some 10 African species in this genus in the family of Combretaceae. It is the only Pteleopsis species to occur in Southern Africa. Its flowers are strongly scented and perceived by humans to be either 'honey-like' or 'cloying' or even 'stinky'. The timber is red, hard and durable, and used for furniture and construction.

References

  1. 1 2 Olila D; Olwa-Odyek, Opuda-Asibo J (December 2001). "Antibacterial and antifungal activities of extracts of Zanthoxylum chalybeum and Warburgia ugandensis, Ugandan medicinal plants". Afr Health Sci. 1 (2): 66–72. PMC   2141554 . PMID   12789119.
  2. Were, PS; Kinyanjui, P; Gicheru, MM; Mwangi, E; Ozwara, HS (2010). "Prophylactic and curative activities of extracts from Warburgia ugandensis Sprague (Canellaceae) and Zanthoxylum usambarense (Engl.) Kokwaro (Rutaceae) against Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium berghei". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 130 (1): 158–62. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2010.04.034. PMID   20435133.
  3. Howard, G.; Kamau, P.; Kindeketa, W.; Luke, W.R.Q.; Lyaruu, H.V.M.; Malombe, I.; Maunder, M.; Mwachala, G.; Njau, E.-F.; Peres, Q.; Schatz, G.E.; Siro Masinde, P.; Ssegawa, P.; Wabuyele, E.; Wilkins, V.L. (2020). "Warburgia ugandensis subsp. longifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T32874A2826016. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T32874A2826016.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.