''Strophanthus hispidus'', the hispid strophanthus, (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 ...

) is a

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

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 several other ''Strophanthus'' species, contain potent

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 (notably

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 ...

) absorbable through wounds - hence its use in African

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 ...

s and later in modern medicine as a

digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...

-like heart stimulant. ''Strophanthus hispidus'' is native from west tropical Africa east to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and south to

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It is naturalized in China.

History of discovery

The plant was observed for the first time in

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

by a certain monsieur Houdelot, then in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

between 1771 and 1775 by Henry Smeathman, likewise in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

(in use among the

Nupe Nupe or NUPE may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language * Nupe River, in the Huánuco Region, Peru * Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in the Uni ...

) by

William Balfour Baikie William Balfour Baikie (27 August 182512 December 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naturalist and philologist. Biography Baikie was born at Kirkwall, Orkney, eldest son of Captain John Baikie, R.N. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and, on obta ...

, in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

by Marie-Théophile Griffon du Bellay and in West Tropical Africa by Gustav Mann.Séance du 27 janvier 1877 – Communication de M. Hardy - ''Bulletin de la Société philomatique de Paris'' – Seventh series, volume I – 1876-1877, page 34.

References

hispidus Flora of West Tropical Africa Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa Flora of Tanzania Flora of Angola Plants described in 1802 {{Apocynaceae-stub