Loganiaceae FAMILY

Strychnos mitscherlichii

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

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^[1]. The bark is a sources of 'Calabash curare', an arrow poison produced in the jungles of the Amazon. Curare has a number of applications in modern medicine^[2]. The bark contains the alkaloid curarine, which paralyses the peripheral nerves so voluntary muscles for respiration cease action and asphyxiation occur^[3].

Cultivation Details

HabitClimber

Growth—

Not known

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Strychnos+mitscherlichii>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Flora of Somalia — Thulin M. (Editor) · Kew Publishing, London. · 1993 ↩︎Detailed information on the plants of the region, often adding notes on the plants uses.
[2]Flora of Peru — Macbride. J.F. · Field Museum of Natural History · 1936 ↩︎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.
[3]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎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
[4]Fruits of the Guianan Flora — van Roosmalen. M.G.M. · Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands. · 1985 · ISBN 90-9000988-4 ↩︎Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
[5]An Illustrated Dictionary of Medicine, Biology and Allied Sciences. — Gould G.M. · P. Blakiston's Son & Co.; Philadelphia. · 1907 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A major work at the time, though very dated now. Contains quite a lot of information about medicinal plant uses.
[6]Flora Medica — Lindley J. · Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London · 1838 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.