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Home Home » TYPES » Trees » Rauvolfia caffra young tree
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Rauvolfia caffra young tree

Rauvolfia caffra young tree
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  • Rapanea melanophloeos multiple stems
  • Rapanea melanophloeos old bole
  • Rapanea melanophloeos stem-tip leaves
  • Rapanea melanophloeos, Cape beech
  • Rauvolfia caffra
  • Rauvolfia caffra branched inflorescence
  • Rauvolfia caffra lower stems
  • Rauvolfia caffra upper branches
  • Rauvolfia caffra young tree
  • Rhamnus prinoides bark
  • Rhamnus prinoides branch
  • Rhamnus prinoides with fruits
  • Rotheca myricoides
  • Rotheca myricoides flowers and fruit
  • Rothmannia capensis
  • Rothmannia capensis dangerous looking bud
  • Rothmannia capensis flower

Image information

Description

The bare, pale grey stems with leaves remaining only near branch ends can be seen on this young quinine tree. It grows well in places with good ground water, such as this Gauteng garden. One of the several common names of the tree is fittingly waterboekenhout in Afrikaans (meaning water beech tree).

This is a pretty tree that featured both successfully and unsuccessfully in a variety of traditional medicine practices. It is useful to note that some parts of the tree are toxic, reported to still be causing deaths in countries like Tanzania. Particularly the milky latex, used medicinally in various situations, is described in the literature as being toxic. This stresses the importance of knowledge of proper utilisation practices for preventing accidents. This Site should never be used as a guide for trying out any medicinal treatment guesses.

There are alkaloid substances obtained from several Rauvolfia species and used medicinally. They include ajmalicine, also called raubasine, that features in proprietary pharmaceutical products for treating behavioural problems associated with senility, as well as in treating head injuries and strokes (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Gericke, 2000; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Poynton, 1975).

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782
Photographer
Thabo Maphisa
Author
Ivan Latti
 
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