Holarrhena floribunda | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Asterids |
Order: | Gentianales |
Family: | Apocynaceae |
Subfamily: | Apocynoideae |
Tribe: | Malouetieae |
Genus: | Holarrhena |
Species: | H. floribunda |
Binomial name | |
Holarrhena floribunda (G.Don) T.Durand & Schinz |
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Synonyms | |
Holarrhena floribunda grows as a shrub or tree up to 25 metres (82 ft) tall, with a stem diameter of up to 30 centimetres (12 in). Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla. Fruit is pale grey to dark brown with paired follicles, each up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long. Vernacular names for the plant include "false rubber tree" and "kurchi bark". H. floribunda is found in a variety of habitats from sea-level to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude. The plant's numerous local medicinal uses include as a treatment for dysentery, diarrhoea, fever, snakebite, infertility, venereal disease, diabetes and malaria. H. floribunda has been used as arrow poison. The plant is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo.