Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Strychnos nux-vomica L. (LOGANIACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Strychnine Tree, Poison Nut, Semen Strychnos, Quaker Buttons

Description

Deciduous medium-sized tree to 25 m tall, thorny. Leaves opposite, decussate arragement with palmately nerved secondary veins, c. 5-18 cm long, broadly ovate. Flowers small, pale green, funnel shaped. Fruits 2.5-4 cm diam., spherical. spherical, orange when ripe.

Ecology

Lowland forest edge, on river banks, coastal woodlands.

Distribution

S India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indo-China, Thailand and N Peninsular Malaysia.

Uses

Highly poisonous. Seeds have been used in traditional medicine.