Mostuea hirsuta

(T. Anderson ex Benth.) Baill. ex Baker

GelsemiaceaeRootsPotential hazards — see below

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(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Root

The root is eaten.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in forest and woodland.

Africa, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, West Africa,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A small tropical shrub growing to about 1 m high, found in forests and woodlands in the Gelsemiaceae family.

How to Grow

The plant is resistant to bush fires.

Medicinal Uses

Mostuea hirsuta is taken as an analgesic. The ground young leaves are used as a dressing to treat initial stages of leprosy. The leaf pulp is massaged on painful areas caused by pulmonary infections, abdominal pains and umbilical hernia in infants. The leaf sap is applied to treat pain caused by caries. A root infusion is taken to treat colds. A root infusion is taken to treat rheumatism. The grated roots are used to dispel sleep or as an aphrodisiac with similar action to that of Tabernanthe iboga. It is consumed alone or mixed with Tabernanthe iboga; extended use may lead to cerebral troubles. The leaf or root sap is taken to treat pain. Mostuea hirsuta contains indole alkaloids, probably sempervirin and gelsemine or closely related compounds. Extracts of the plant have analgesic properties, lower heart action and stimulate respiration in low dosage; high dosage can cause death by paralysis of respiration.

Other Uses

The branches are used as brooms.

Notes

Also put in the family Loganiaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Isala

Coinochlamys gabonica SolerederCoinochlamys hirsuta T. Anderson ex Benth.Mostuea gabonica Baill.Mostuea hirsuta (T. Anderson ex Benth.) Baill. ex BakerMostuea periquetii Pellegr.

References (2)

Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 90 (As Mostuea angolana)
Liengola, I. B., 2001, A contribution to the study of native edible plants by the Turumbu and Lokele of the Tshopo District, Province Orientale, D. R. Congo. Syst. Geogr. Pl. 71:687-698