''Zanthoxylum asiaticum'' is a species of plant in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

. Under its synonym ''Toddalia asiatica'', it was the only species in the monotypic genus ''Toddalia'', now included in ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the Family (biology), family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and Subtropics, subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type gen ...

''. It is known by the English name orange climber.

Description

This 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 ...

with woody, corky,

thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

y stems that climb on trees, reaching up to 10 m in length. It has shiny green citrus-scented leaves, yellow-green flowers, and orange fruits about half a cm wide that taste like

orange peel The orange, also called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange (''Citrus × aurantium''), is the fruit of a tree in the family Rutaceae. Botanically, this is the hybrid ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', between the pomelo (''Citrus m ...

. The seeds are dispersed by birds and monkeys that eat the fruits. In particular, the

scaly-breasted munia The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (''Lonchura punctulata''), known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch, is a Old World sparrow, sparrow-sized estrildid finch native to tropical Asia. A species of the genus ''Lonchura'', it ...

prefers to nest in these trees.

Distribution

It is native to many countries in Africa and Asia. Examples include South Africa where in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

it is called ''ranklemoentjie'', and in

Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...

, ''gwambadzi''.PlantZAfrica.com
/ref> It is very popular among the Kikuyus of Central Kenya, where it is known as ''mururue'', Mauritius, where it is known as patte poule or properly .Kamau, Loice Njeri and Peter Mathiu Mbaabu and James Mucunu Mbaria and Peter Karuri Gathumbi and Stephen Gitahi Kiama (2016).
Ethnobotanical survey and threats to medicinal plants traditionally used for the management of human diseases in Nyeri County, Kenya
, p. 11. Leakey, L. S. B. (1977). ''The Southern Kikuyu before 1903'', v. III, p. 1340. London and New York: Academic Press.

Habitat

It grows in forested

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

habitat with high

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

. The destruction of forest habitat in Africa threatens the species' survival.Nabwami, J., et al. (2007)
Characterization of the natural habitat of ''Toddalia asiatica'' in the Lake Victoria basin: soil characteristics and seedling establishment.
African Crop Science Conference Proceedings Volume 8.

Fossil record

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

seeds assigned to ''Toddalia'' (now included in ''Zanthoxylum'') have been described as ''Toddalia nanlinensis'' from the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

of Nanlin Formation in Longchuan Basin,

Dehong Autonomous Prefecture The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in western Yunnan province, China. It is bordered by Baoshan to the east and Myanmar's Kachin State to the west. Its titular ethnic minorities are the Dai and Jingpo ...

Yunnan Province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

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 fossil seeds are boat-shaped with tegmen that is composed of thin-walled cells with fine criss-crossed spiral lignifications.

Medicinal uses

The plant is used medicinally by many African peoples, including the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: *Maasai people *Maasai language *Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) Masai may refer to: *Masai, Johor, a town in Malaysia * Masai Plateau, a plateau in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India *Maasai peopl ...

, who use it for

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and Microorganism, microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex fol ...

, and

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. The roots contain

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

s that have

antiplasmodial ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a verteb ...

activity. Extracts of the plant have demonstrated

antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

activity against H1N1 influenza in the laboratory.Lu, S. Y., et al. (2005). Identification of antiviral activity of ''Toddalia asiatica'' against influenza type A virus. ''Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi.'' 30:13 998-1001. The harvest of this slow-growing plant from the wild for medicinal use may cause its populations to decline. Protocols for domestication or propagation of the tree are being researched.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15930630 asiaticum Plants used in traditional African medicine Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus