''Strychnos madagascariensis'', the black monkey orange, is an African tropical and sub-tropical tree belonging to the Loganiaceae family. It is a tree with characteristically large fruit but can confused with some other species of the genus.

Vernacular names

It is also known by various other English names. Among southern African languages it is known (among others) as Mogorwagorwane or Lerutla (Setswana), Umkwakwa (North Ndebele), Morapa or Mookwane (Sepedi), Muhwakwa (Shona), umKhwakhwa (Swati), Nkwakwa or Muquaqua (Tsonga), or Mukwakwa (Venda). In West Africa it is known as Nkankoronin (Bambara).

Range

It is native to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, Mozambique,

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, and further north to Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Tropical Africa and the western side of Madagascar.

Description

Usually about 6m tall and often multi-stemmed with a spreading, irregular crown, it occurs in open woodland, rocky places, riverine fringes and coastal forest. Bark mostly pale grey with white and dark grey patches, smooth, occasionally powdery. Branches are unarmed though short, rigid lateral shoots may resemble spines. The opposite leaves - often tufted - are smooth to hairy, leathery, elliptic to circular, shiny dark green above and markedly paler below. Flowers are small and greenish-yellow in clusters of 1-4 flowers. Fruit is near-spherical with a thick, woody shell, about 8 cm in diameter and distinctively blue-green in colour when young, turning yellow when mature. The tightly-packed poisonous seeds are covered in an orange, fleshy, edible pulp rich in citric acid and

iridoids Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as glycosides, mos ...

- the pulp is relished by humans and baboons. Iridoids are primarily a defense against herbivory and pathogens, and are characterized by a bitter taste.

Uses

The tree is a close relative of '' Strychnos nux-vomica'', the seed of which is a source of

strychnine Strychnine (, , US chiefly ) is a highly toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the eye ...

. Fishing with poisonous plants used to be a common practice in Africa, and though outlawed is still employed in remote areas. As with other species of ''Strychnos'' the seeds are pulverised and thrown into a pool or dammed sections of a stream, affected fish soon rising to the surface, while subsequent cooking breaks down the poison. Oils extracted from the inner skin of the fruit have a high oleic acid content.

Synonyms

*''Strychnos baronii'' Baker *''Strychnos behrensiana'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos burtonii'' Baker *''Strychnos dysophylla'' Benth. *''Strychnos dysophylla'' subsp. ''engleri'' (Gilg) E.A. Bruce & Lewis *''Strychnos engleri'' Gilg *''Strychnos gerrardii'' N.E. Br. *''Strychnos innocua'' subsp. ''burtonii'' (Baker) E.A. Bruce & J. Lewis *''Strychnos innocua'' subsp. ''dysophylla'' (Benth.) I. Verd. *''Strychnos innocua'' subsp. ''gerrardii'' (N.E. Br.) I. Verd. *''Strychnos leiocarpa'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos melonicarpa'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos mocquerysii'' Aug. DC. *''Strychnos pachphylla'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos polyphylla'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos quaqua'' Gilg *''Strychnos randiaeformis'' Baill. *''Strychnos stenoneura'' Gilg & Busse *''Strychnos unguacha'' var. ''dysophylla'' (Benth.) Gilg *''Strychnos unguacha'' var. ''micrantha'' Gilg *''Strychnos vacacoua'' Baill. *''Strychnos wakefieldii'' Baker

References

External links

Gallery of imagesGallery of images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13034408 Fruits originating in Africa Trees of Africa Trees of Madagascar madagascariensis