''Strophanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants 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 ...

, first described as a genus in 1802. It is native primarily to tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, extending to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, with a few species in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

from southern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The genus name is a compound of the Greek words στρόφος (''stróphos'') "twisted cord" and ἄνθος (''ánthos'') "flower", in reference to the corolla lobes which, in some species - notably ''S. petersianus'' (see below) - resemble long twisted ribbons or threads and can reach a length of 30–35 cm. This trait, in addition to colouring involving combinations of bright pinks, purples and oranges, combine to make the flowers among the most ornamental in the plant kingdom. The genus includes

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are opposite or whorled, simple broad lanceolate, 2–20 cm long, with an entire margin. Several African tribes used ''Strophanthus'' as the principal ingredient in

arrow poison Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

. After dipping the arrows of their hunting weapons into a strong concentration of the ingredient, the effect was to stun their prey. Plants from this genus produce toxic

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s and

cardiac glycoside Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses include treatments for ...

s g-

strophanthin Strophanthins are cardiac glycosides in plants of the genus ''Strophanthus''. The singular may refer to: * g-Strophanthin, also known as ouabain * k-Strophanthin See also * Cardenolide A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain d ...

(syn.

ouabain Ouabain or (from Somali ''waabaayo'', "arrow poison" through French ''ouabaïo'') also known as g-strophanthin, is a plant derived toxic substance that was traditionally used as an arrow poison in eastern Africa for both hunting and warfare. ...

), k-

, and e-

. As ordinarily administered, the drug acts on the heart before influencing any other organ or tissue. Indeed, often no other effect may be observed. Some of the chemicals in the plants are used to produce the drug

, which was taken as a cardiac stimulant to treat

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

and sometimes g-strophanthin is advocated as an alternative treatment to more contemporary practices. The effect is similar to that of the drug

digoxin Digoxin (better known as digitalis), sold under the brand name Lanoxin among others, is a medication used to treat various heart disease, heart conditions. Most frequently it is used for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure. ...

, which is produced from ''

Digitalis purpurea ''Digitalis purpurea'', the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalized in parts of North Ame ...

''.

Gallery

Flowers

File:Strophanthus amboensis 1DS-II 3-1571.jpg, ''

Strophanthus amboensis ''Strophanthus amboensis'' is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. Description ''Strophanthus amboensis'' grows as a deciduous shrub up to tall, or as a liana up to long, with a stem diameter up to . Its flowers feature an orange-yellow ...

'' File:Corckscrew Tree.jpg, ''

Strophanthus boivinii ''Strophanthus boivinii'', the wood shaving flower, is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. The Latin specific epithet of ''boivinii'' refers to French explorer and plant collector Louis Hyacinthe Boivin (1808-1852). Description ''Str ...

'' File:Strophanthus dichotomus Decne.; flowering branch with separa Wellcome V0042705.jpg , ''

Strophanthus caudatus ''Strophanthus caudatus'' is a woody liana that can grow up to in length, with a trunk diameter of up to . It grows natively from Guangxi in southern China, through Indochina (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) to Malesia and New Guinea ...

'' (coloured plate) File:Strophanthus divaricatus2.jpg, ''

Strophanthus divaricatus ''Strophanthus divaricatus'' is a liana or sarmentose shrub that can grow up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . ''Divaricatus'' is from the Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic bran ...

'' File:Strophanthus gratus 16.jpg, ''

Strophanthus gratus ''Strophanthus gratus'' is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. Description ''Strophanthus gratus'' is a woody liana that can grow up to , with a trunk diameter of up to . Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla, topped by red or pur ...

'' File:Strophanthus hispidus - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-131.jpg, ''

Strophanthus hispidus ''Strophanthus hispidus'', the hispid strophanthus, (family: Apocynaceae) is a liana or shrub that can grow up to tall. Its flowers feature a yellow corolla and yellow corona lobes spotted with red, purple or brown. The seeds, like those of se ...

'' (coloured plate) File:Strophanthus kombe00.jpg, ''

Strophanthus kombe ''Strophanthus kombe'', the kombe arrow poison, is a vine that grows in the tropical regions of Eastern Africa, and is part of the genus ''Strophanthus'', which contains approximately 38 species. ''S. kombe'' contains a cardiac glycoside which d ...

'' (botanical drawing) File:Strophanthus petersianus 1DS-II 3-2770.jpg, ''

Strophanthus petersianus ''Strophanthus petersianus'', commonly known as sand forest poison rope, is a liana or deciduous shrub up to long, with a stem diameter up to . Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla, sometimes with reddish pink stripes on the inside. '' ...

'' File:Strophanthus preussii (25433002894).jpg, ''

Strophanthus preussii ''Strophanthus preussii'', the Preuss' strophanthus, is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. Description ''Strophanthus preussii'' grows as an evergreen liana up to long or a shrub up to tall, with a stem diameter up to . Its fragrant fl ...

'' File:Strophanthus sarmentosus 0002.jpg, ''

Strophanthus sarmentosus ''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' grows as either a deciduous shrub or as a liana up to long, with a stem diameter up to . Its fragrant flowers feature a white to purple corolla, red or purple-streaked on the inside. ''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' is ...

'' File:Strophanthus speciosus 1DS-II 6026.jpg, ''

Strophanthus speciosus ''Strophanthus speciosus'', commonly known as the forest poison rope, is a tree, shrub or woody climber which is native to southern Africa. Description ''Strophanthus speciosus'' grows as a tree or shrub up to tall, and as a liana up to long, ...

'' ;Species ;formerly included in genus * ''Strophanthus aambe = Papuechites aambe'' * ''Strophanthus balansae =

Anodendron paniculatum ''Anodendron'' is a genus of plant in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1844. It is native to most of tropical Asia: China, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and some islands of the western Pacific.Middleton, ...

'' * ''Strophanthus jackianus = Wrightia dubia''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Apocynaceae genera