Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Anthostema senegalense

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

Latex is present in the bark, young shoots, leaves, flowers and fruit. It is very toxic, acrid and vesicant. It is harmful to mucous membranes and it is known to all races as being very dangerous to the eyes and capable of causing blindness[ 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/ ]. Leafy twigs and inflorescences are chopped up as a fish-poison[ 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/ ], and in rice fields branches of the leafy twigs are placed at water intake sluices to kill fish that eat the young rice plants[ 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/ ].

Botanical Description

Anthostema senegalense is usually a tree growing 20 - 30 metres tall, though in Senegal and The Gambia its stature is appreciably less, and the plant is often no more than a shrub, The straight bole can be 60cm 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/ ]. Although very poisonous, the plant is often used for medicinal purposes within its native range, where it is commonly harvested from the wild. The tree also furnishes a timber,

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeWest tropical Africa - Senegal to Benin.

HabitatGallery forest[ 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. ]. Damp, swampy or flooded sites on river-banks, of the soudanian wooded savannah, coastal savannah or forest zone[ 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/ ].