The wood is odourless or smells slightly of peas. Radial surfaces show a stripe or ribbon figure. The grain is straight, sometimes spirally, texture medium to coarse. The heartwood is white or pale brown and indistinctly demarcated from the sapwood. The bark and leaves are popular for their medicinal use and are found in local markets. The wood of Anthocleista grandiflora is mainly locally used and rarely traded. A piece of root is braided in the hair as a lucky charm. The smoke of burning bark is inhaled to drive away bad spirits. The leaves are reported to be a good tonic, although laxative at large doses. A bark decoction mixed with baking soda is taken to treat hepatitis. In Madagascar bark decoctions or infusions are taken or a piece of bark is chewed to treat diarrhoea and fever. In South Africa bark decoctions are taken to treat diabetes, high blood pressure and venereal diseases. The bark is chewed to treat diarrhoea, and in Zimbabwe bark decoctions are used as an enema to treat epilepsy. In Tanzania leaf decoctions are taken to treat malaria, and root decoctions to treat diarrhoea, asthma, kidney diseases and tapeworm. Leaf ash mixed with oil is locally applied for the same problem.
In DR Congo a leaf decoction is drunk to treat wounds of teats. The tree is attractive and is planted for amenity and shade.
It is suitable for veneer, plywood, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood. The wood (trade name: mutunguru) is sometimes used for light construction, light flooring, joinery, interior trim, furniture, crates, boxes, carvings and vats. As an ornamental, it is sometimes planted in gardens in southern United States. It also occurs in Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar. Cabbage tree, forest fever tree, forest big-leaf (En).Īnthocleista grandiflora occurs from eastern DR Congo, Kenya and Uganda south to north-eastern South Africa and Swaziland.Family: Loganiaceae (APG: Gentianaceae) Synonyms
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