Description

A shrub or tree to 4 m high, variable and represented in the Region by two varieties, var. febrifugum and var. ferrugineum (Hook. f.) Keay & Milne-Redhead, of merging and unclear differentiation, of the savanna from Guinea to W Cameroons and generally widespread in tropical Africa.The plant in Uganda is said to show some resistance to fire (8). When burnt the wood produces much smoke, and the Gbaya of Central African Republic hold it to be unusable on this account (21).The bark, and more especially the root-bark, is used for all manner of skin-troubles. It is reported used in Sierra Leone on craw-craw (18), and on skin-troubles in Ivory Coast (5). The powdered root is used topically on parasitic skin-diseases in Nigeria (12). In Tanganyika the root ground up and mixed with oil is said to be a good remedy for pimples, eruptions and wounds (2, 20).The plant, and especially the bark, has been regarded as possessing anti-leprous properties and to be of value against insect-bites (20). Another Tanganyikan treatment for scabies is to mix the bark-ash with castor-oil for application to the area after scarification, and the sediment after decocting the bark is used on dry eczema of allergic or fungal origin (10). In Congo (Brazzaville) the root-bark is recognised as efficaceous against skin-itch and jiggers, and in infusion is used as a wound-treatment and on skin-eruptions (1). The pulped plant or the bark in decoction is also used in Congo on furuncles and leprosy, and is taken internally for dysmenorrhoea, dysentery, tuberculosis and whooping cough (3). Miscellaneous other uses are: in Kenya the root pounded with water is taken as a dose to cure an unspecified malady called ‘tongue’ disease (11); in Tanganyika as a ‘baby remedy’ (14); to relieve constipation (13); sap is expressed to apply on sores (15, 17) to treat salpingitis (9); as an enema for ankylostomiasis (16) and in a formulation the decoction is taken for syphilis (10).The plant has a reputation for febrifugal action (Ivory Coast: 25; Nigeria: 12; Gabon: 19; Angola: 7, 20), as its scientific name might imply but tests on the bark have given negative anti-malarial results (20) and similarly against avian malaria (6). Root-bark has been analysed as containing catechuic tannins 9 .5%, and a toxic red fluorescent anthraquinonic pigment, corymbiferin, which is related to hypericin and has a photosensitising capacity: it is toxic to kidneys and intestines (12). Steroids and terpenes are also present in the bark and roots (4).The dried flower-stalks are powdered and are added to Acalypha ornata Hochst. & A. Rich. (Euphorbiaceae) for use in Tanganyika as a wound-dressing following circumcision (10).The fruits are eaten in Tanganyika (16, 17).