Menispermaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Abuta imene

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant is poisonous. The bark is one of the main ingredients used to produce the poison 'curare' in the Amazon region of Japurá and the Negro River^[1]. Various parts of the plant contain 'cocculin', an odourless, bitter-tasting, toxic alkaloid. This alkaloid slows the heart rate; causes an almost complete paralysis of the voluntarily muscles; produces tetanus-like convulsions; and death^[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitClimber

Growth—

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Abuta+imene>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Diccionario das Plantas Uteis do Brasil — Correa M.P. · Imprensa Nacional; Rio de Janeiro · 1926 ↩︎A massive work in 6 volumes giving details of the various uses of Brazilian plants.
[2]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
[3]Fruits of the Guianan Flora — van Roosmalen. M.G.M. · Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands. · 1985 · ISBN 90-9000988-4 ↩︎Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
[4]Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador — de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba · Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific · 2008 · ISBN 978-9978-77-135-8 ↩︎