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Spirostachys africana
Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Spirostachys africana

Spirostachys africana

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant produces a copious, caustic, milky latex that, upon contact, causes damage to the skin or blindness[1, 2]. It is sometimes used to sturefy fish[3]. The sawdust of fresh wood and the sap are highly irritant[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthSlow

A plant of drier areas in the tropics and subtropics. The tree can tolerate at least some frost[3]. Requires a moist soil for best growth[2]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils[3]. Established plants are fairly drought tolerant[3]. A very slow-growing tree[3]. The seeds often become infested with the larvae of a small grey moth which cause the seeds to spring several centimeters into the air similar to the 'jumping beans' of some South American Hippomaneae (Sebastiania spp., Colliguaya spp.)[1].

Propagation

Seed - it needs to be harvested before being fully ripe because otherwise most of the seeds will be parasitized[3]. Surface sow the seed in a nursery seedbed or containers, pushing it gently into the top of the compost and do not allow it to become to dry[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Spirostachys+africana>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎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.
  2. [2]Gemsbok Bean and Kalahari Truffle — Leffers A. · Gamsberg MacMillan; Namibia. · 2003 · ISBN 99916-0-491-X ↩︎Details of the traditional uses of over 200 species of plants in northeastern Namibia. Written for the non-expert, there is usually at least one photograph with each plant entry.
  3. [3]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
  4. [4]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.