Apocynaceae FAMILY

Aspidosperma excelsum

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

The freshly cut wood and sap of Aspidosperma species causes irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, with general malaise^[1]. The sawdust, on contact with abraded skin, produces local burning and a vesicular eruption with general symptoms of muscular weakness and cramps, sweating, dryness of the mouth, and faintness^[1]. Once the wood is thoroughly dry it loses its toxicity unless polishes or dyes in organic solvents are used on it^[1]

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree

Growth—

Detailed cultivation instructions are not available.

Propagation

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

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]BoDD (Botanical Dermatology Database) — http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/ ↩︎Brief notes on a very wide range of plants that have reports of causing harm to the skin.
[2]Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database — http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm ↩︎Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
[3]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[4]Handbook of S. American Indians. — Steward J. H. (Editor) · US Government Printing Office; Washington · 1946 - 1950 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎In six volumes, a detailed look at the native peoples of S. America - their culture, lifestyle, use of plants etc,