Loganiaceae FAMILY

Strychnos boonei

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

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. ].

Botanical Description

Strychnos boonei is a spine-free, climbing shrub with stems that can be 30 - 100 metres or more long and 3 - 10cm in diameter. It can climb 20 metres or more into the surrounding trees, attaching itself by means of tendrils[ 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/ , 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 plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - southern Nigeria to Uganda, south to DR Congo

HabitatDense, lowland rain forest and secondary formations, often along watercourses; at elevations up to 1,300 metres[ 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/ , 610 Title Flora of Tropical East Africa Publication Author Beentje H.J. Website http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814 Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 2002 ISBN Description Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa. ].