''Catharanthus trichophyllus'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, where it is most common in northern regions.Schmelzer, G. H. (2007)
''Catharanthus trichophyllus'' (Baker) Pichon.
In: Schmelzer, G. H. and A. Gurib-Fakim. (Editors). Prota 11(1): Medicinal Plants/''Plantes Médicinales'' 1. PROTA. Wageningen, Netherlands.

Description

This is a perennial herb growing up to one meter tall. It has an unpleasant scent. It contains a white

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

. The stems and branches are squared, winged, and reddish or purplish in color. The oppositely arranged leaves have hairy, pointed oval blades up to 8.5 centimeters long. They are each accompanied by several

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s. Flowers occur singly or in pairs in the leaf axils. The calyx is up to a centimeter long and has five long, narrow lobes. The corolla has a tubular throat over 2 centimeters long opening into five lobes each up to 1.8 centimeters long. The flowers may be white, pink, red, or purple, with yellowish centers. The fruit is a pair of greenish or purplish follicles up to 7 centimeters long. Each contains 10 to 20 seeds.

Taxonomy

The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''trichophyllus'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for 'hairy leaves'.

Ecology

The plant grows in

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depen ...

and dry climates''Catharanthus trichophyllus''.
Madagascar Catalogue. eFloras. in many habitat types, including forest edges and openings, riverbanks, and disturbed areas such as roadsides.

Uses

The plant is used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

to treat a variety of conditions, including

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

impotency Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

back pain Back pain is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area is the most common area ...

toothache Toothache, also known as dental pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the te ...

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

, and

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the sig ...

s. It is used as a

stimulant Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and inv ...

, an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

, and an

appetite suppressant An anorectic or anorexic is a drug which reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. By contrast, an appetite stimulant is referred to as orexigenic. The term is (from the Greek ''ἀν-'' (an-) = "without" and ...

Chemistry

The plant is a

congeneric Congener may refer to: * A thing or person of the same kind as another, or of the same group. * Congener (biology), organisms within the same genus. * Congener (chemistry), related chemicals, e.g., elements in the same group of the periodic table. ...

of the

Madagascar periwinkle ''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to M ...

(''C. roseus''), the original main source of

vinca alkaloid ''Vinca'' alkaloids are a set of anti-mitotic and anti-microtubule alkaloid agents originally derived from the periwinkle plant ''Catharanthus roseus'' (basionym ''Vinca rosea'') and other ''vinca'' plants. They block beta-tubulin polymerizatio ...

s, also known as catharanthus alkaloids, which are still in use today as anticancer drugs. ''C. trichophyllus'' contains lower concentrations of such alkaloids. The two species can be hybridized to increase the concentration.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15334775 trichophyllus Plants used in traditional African medicine Endemic flora of Madagascar Plants described in 1883 Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker Taxa named by Marcel Pichon