Strychnos cocculoides

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Botanical name

Strychnos cocculoides (SA no 623)

Other names

Corky-bark monkey orange; geelklapper (Afrikaans), Loganiaceae

Dimensions

A tree of up to 8 m

Description of stem

Light brown, corky, deeply longitudinally ridged on mature trunks, young branches purplish, hairy; curved spines and usually a terminal spine on the branch

Description of leaves

Ovate to round on a short petiole; may have hairs on the upper surface or hairless and shiny; margin entire

Description of flowers

Small, greenish in clusters; prominent calyx

Description of seed/fruit

Woody, spherical, green with white spots

Description of roots

 

Variation

 

Propagation and cultivation

Grows from seed or root suckers; fast growing; experiments to grow as fruit trees in Zambia have yielded some promise

Tolerances

 

Uses

Edible fruit, sometimes stored in sand for eating later; used as a dye to colour utensils and protect them from insects; said to provide a cough medicine and for treating eczema; the wood is used to make tool handles; planted with some success in Israel for the edible fruit

Ecological rarity

Common

Pests and Diseases

 

Other

 

Location

In deciduous woodland, on rocky hills and dry, sandy soil

Distribution (SA provinces)

Northwest, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga

Country

South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania

 


 

Strychnos cocculoides; Drawing by Barbara Pretorius (copyright)