Dioclea grandiflora
Dioclea grandiflora
Safety & Hazards
The seed contains anti-nutritional substances. These include a soluble substance of small molecular weight which caused food intake to be reduced to levels well below that required to meet minimum protein, energy, vitamin and mineral requirements, and led to poor growth. This factor could be reduced substantially by exhaustive dialysis or by aqueous ethanol extraction of the meal[1]. In addition, the constitutent lectin, which was partially resistant in vitro and in vivo to degradation by gastrointestinal enzymes, also contributed to growth depression[1].
Cultivation Details
Not known
Propagation
The seed has a very tough seedcoat and a firm flesh. Many species in the genus grow near rivers or the sea and their seeds can be carried for many months over long distances in the water, whilst retaining viability. It is believed that the seed of some species can retain viability for over 100 years in the soil so long as the seedcoat is not damaged. In order to get the seeds to germinate within one's own lifetime, it is generally necessary to damage the seedcoat without damaging the flesh inside. This can be done quite easily by either cutting a notch into the seedcoat, or abrading it with sandpaper. Once this is done, soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and it should germinate quite quickly[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dioclea+grandiflora>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Dioclea grandiflora and Dioclea sclerocarpa seeds. A nutritional study — Grant G.; McKenzie N.H.; Moreira R.A.; Pusztai A. · 1986 · https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01091753 · ISBN 1573-9104 ↩︎
- [2]Medicinal and poisonous diversity of the flora of 'Cariri Paraibano', Brazil. — Agra M.F. Et al · Journal of Ethnopharmacology · 2007 · https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2006.12.007 ↩︎An article from the Journal of Ethnopharmacy, available as a PDF document on the Internet. Brief details of some medicinal plants from an area of Brazil.
- [3]Antinociceptive and Toxicological Effects of Dioclea grandiflora Seed Pod in Mice — Rita de Cassia da Silveira e Sá et al · 2010 · http://10.1155/2010/606748 ↩︎
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎