''Alchornea floribunda'' is a plant native to tropical Africa. The plant is locally known as ''Niando''.
[Dr. Duke's Database]
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Description
''Alchornea floribunda'' is a large, straggly shrub that grows into a bush about tall.
Uses
This plant has many traditional uses. The leaves are sometimes cooked and eaten as a vegetable and may be eaten with meat or fish as an antidote to poison. They are also consumed as a remedy for ovarian problems and gastro-intestinal disorders. A decoction of the dried leaves is used to treat diarrhoea and the leaves are pulped to promote the healing of wounds. The dried leaves and fibrous root scrapings are used as a substitute for tobacco. The powdered rootbark is highly prized in traditional medicine as a stimulating intoxicant and aphrodisiac.[
This plant is preferentially used by ]chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
s in making tools for catching termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
s in the Dja Faunal Reserve
Dja Faunal Reserve (Réserve de faune du Dja, also known as Réserve de Biosphère Dja), located in south eastern Cameroon, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987. Causes of inscription include diversity of species present in the park, ...
in south eastern Cameroon. The animals hunt through the forest for the shrub and make short poles out of it. Thicker poles about half a metre long are used to dig into and disturb the termite mound, and thinner, flexible poles are inserted for the angry termites to climb onto. The chimpanzees then scoop the termites clinging to their fishing rods into their mouths.
Phytochemicals
Compounds contained in ''Alchornea floribunda'' include Alchorneine
Alchorneine is an imidazopyrimidine alkaloid found in trees in the genus ''Alchornea'' such as ''Alchornea castaneifolia'', '' Alchornea floribunda'' or ''Alchornea cordifolia
''Alchornea cordifolia'' is a shrub or small tree distributed thro ...
, Alchorneinone, Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...
s, Anthranilic acid
Anthranilic acid is an aromatic acid with the formula C6H4(NH2)(CO2H) and has a sweetish taste. The molecule consists of a benzene ring, ''ortho''-substituted with a carboxylic acid and an amine. As a result of containing both acidic and basic f ...
, Gentisinic acid, Isoalchorneine and Yohimbine
Yohimbine (), also known as quebrachine, is an indole alkaloid derived from the bark of the African tree ''Pausinystalia johimbe''; also from the bark of the unrelated South American tree ''Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco''. Yohimbine is an α2- ...
.[
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See also
*Psychedelic plants
Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work:
Psychoactivity may include sedative, stimulant, euphoric, deliriant, and hallucinogenic effects.
Several h ...
References
External links
Alchornea floribunda – Alan Root
in the Entheology.com database.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4713059
Alchorneae
Entheogens
Herbal and fungal hallucinogens
Plants used in traditional African medicine