Apocynaceae FAMILY

Voacanga thouarsii

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Voacanga thouarsii is a tree growing up to 13 metres tall. The bole, which has branches from low-down, can be around 30cm in diameter[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. It is sometimes stilt-rooted when growing in swampy ground[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. The tree is harvested from the wild, providing medicines and various commodities to the local population. The plant contains several medically active compounds, various parts of the plant being exported to pharmaceutical companies in Europe and elsewhere. The tree is also used in soil conservation programmes.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - Sierra Leone to southern Sudan and Kenya, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar.

HabitatOften in swampy ground; growing in valley bottoms; ravines and stream-banks of the wooded savannah[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. Mostly in semi-deciduous forest and savannah, often in moist localities, sea-level to 600 metres[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. It easily colonizes disturbed habitats[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]