Strychnos castelnaeana
Strychnos castelnaeana
Safety & Hazards
The bark is one of the sources of 'Curare', an arrow poison produced in the jungles of the Amazon. Curare has a number of applications in modern medicine[ 434 Title Flora of Peru Publication Author Macbride. J.F. Publisher Field Museum of Natural History Year 1936 ISBN Description An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet. ]. The bark contains the alkaloid curarine, which paralyses the peripheral nerves so voluntary muscles for respiration cease action and asphyxiation occur[ 348 Title Medicinal Plants of the Guianas Publication Author DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. Website http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html Publisher Smithsonian Museum Year 0 ISBN Description A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region ].
Botanical Description
Strychnos castelnaeana is a climbing shrub producing stems up to 12 metres long and about 35mm in diameter that clamber into the surrounding vegetation, supporting themselves by means of tendrils[ 434 Title Flora of Peru Publication Author Macbride. J.F. Publisher Field Museum of Natural History Year 1936 ISBN Description An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet. ]. The plant is one of the sources of curare, used in the Amazon as an arrow poison and also used in modern medicine as a sedative and anticonvulsant.