Strychnos pungens
Strychnos pungens
Safety & Hazards
Various parts of Strychnos plants, especially the seeds and bark, contain toxic alkaloids such as strychnine and brucine. The fleshy pulp of the ripe fruits, however, is often edible[ 500 Title Flora of Somalia Publication Author Thulin M. (Editor) Publisher Kew Publishing, London. Year 1993 ISBN Description Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses. ]. The seeds are poisonous[ 398 Title Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania Publication Author Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. Publisher Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. Year 2002 ISBN 9966-896-60-0 Description A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants. ].
Botanical Description
Strychnos pungens is an evergreen shrub or a tree; it usually grows from 0.6 - 8 metres tall, though specimens up to 16 metres have been recorded. The bole is around 10 - 20cm in diameter with a thick, fissured bark[ 308 Title Flora Zambesiaca Publication Author Website http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants. , 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. , 663 Title Flora of Southern Africa Publication Author Roux J.P. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=662545 Publisher Year 2003 ISBN Description An excellent on-line resource. , 2064 Title Loganiaceae Publication Flore d’Afrique centrale (Zaïre - Rwanda - Burundi), Spermatophytes Author Leeuwenberg A.J.M. & Bamps P. Website http://10.5281/zenodo.4569937 Publisher Meise, Jardin botanique national de Belgique Year 1979 ISBN Description This publication, along with many other from the Flore d’Afrique centrale, has been made available as a PDF document under a Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share Alike 4.0 International licence (CC-BY-NC-SA) ]. The edible fruit is harvested from the wild for local use. In some areas the fruit is of good quality and it is a highly valued food, though in other areas the fruit has an unpleasant smell and is much less eaten[ 663 Title Flora of Southern Africa Publication Author Roux J.P. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=662545 Publisher Year 2003 ISBN Description An excellent on-line resource. ]. The plant also has local medicinal uses and the fruit shells have a range of uses. Although not cultivated, the tree is often left standing when the forest is cleared for cultivation[ 323 Title Lost Crops of Africa. Vol. 3 Fruits. Publication Author Publisher National Academy Press Year 2008 ISBN 030910596X Description Masses of information on about 70 species of plants that have been utilized as fruits in Africa. ].