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''Catharanthus trichophyllus'' is a species of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the family
Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable mem ...
. It is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, where it is most common in northern regions.Schmelzer, G. H. (2007)
''Catharanthus trichophyllus'' (Baker) Pichon.
In: Schmelzer, G. H. and A. Gurib-Fakim. (Editors). Prota 11(1): Medicinal Plants/''Plantes Médicinales'' 1. PROTA. Wageningen, Netherlands.


Description

This is a perennial herb growing up to one meter tall. It has an unpleasant scent. It contains a white
latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...
. The stems and branches are squared, winged, and reddish or purplish in color. The oppositely arranged leaves have hairy, pointed oval blades up to 8.5 centimeters long. They are each accompanied by several
stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...
s. Flowers occur singly or in pairs in the leaf axils. The calyx is up to a centimeter long and has five long, narrow lobes. The corolla has a tubular throat over 2 centimeters long opening into five lobes each up to 1.8 centimeters long. The flowers may be white, pink, red, or purple, with yellowish centers. The fruit is a pair of greenish or purplish follicles up to 7 centimeters long. Each contains 10 to 20 seeds.


Taxonomy

The species
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
''trichophyllus'' is
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for 'hairy leaves'.


Ecology

The plant grows in
humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...
and dry climates''Catharanthus trichophyllus''.
Madagascar Catalogue. eFloras.
in many habitat types, including forest edges and openings, riverbanks, and disturbed areas such as roadsides.


Uses

The plant is used in
traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...
to treat a variety of conditions, including
sexually transmitted disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
s,
impotency Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection with sufficient rigidity and duration for sati ...
,
back pain Back pain (Latin: ''dorsalgia'') is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area ...
,
toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or referred ...
,
fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
,
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
,
bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethr ...
, and
liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Liver diseases File:Ground gla ...
s. It is used as a
stimulant Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, ...
, an
aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...
, and an
appetite suppressant An anorectic is a drug that reduces appetite, resulting in lower food consumption, leading to weight loss. These substances work by affecting the central nervous system or certain neurotransmitters to create a feeling of fullness or reduce the desi ...
.


Chemistry

The plant is a
congeneric Congener may refer to: * Congener (biology), organisms within the same genus * Congener (chemistry), related chemicals, e.g., elements in the same group of the periodic table * Congener (beverages), a substance other than ethanol produced during t ...
of the
Madagascar periwinkle ''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and en ...
(''C. roseus''), the original main source of
vinca alkaloid ''Vinca'' alkaloids are a set of Antimitotic agent, anti-mitotic and Anti-microtubule activity, anti-microtubule alkaloid agents originally derived from the periwinkle plant ''Catharanthus roseus'' (basionym ''Vinca rosea'') and other ''vinca'' p ...
s, also known as catharanthus alkaloids, which are still in use today as anticancer drugs. ''C. trichophyllus'' contains lower concentrations of such alkaloids. The two species can be hybridized to increase the concentration.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15334775 trichophyllus Plants used in traditional African medicine Endemic flora of Madagascar Plants described in 1883 Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker Taxa named by Marcel Pichon