Strophanthus speciosus


Strophanthus speciosus, commonly known as the forest poison rope, is a tree, shrub or woody climber which is native to southern Africa.

Description

Strophanthus speciosus grows as a tree or shrub up to tall, and as a liana up to long, with a stem diameter up to. Its flowers feature a white turning orange corolla, red-streaked on the inside.

Distribution and habitat

Strophanthus speciosus is native to Zimbabwe, South Africa and Eswatini. It occurs in forests and their margins from altitude.

Uses

Local medicinal uses of S. speciosus include snakebite treatment. The plant has also been used as arrow poison. As with other species of Strophanthus it contains the cardiac glycoside strophanthin - plants of allied genera contain similar compounds.