Region: northern Tropical Africa, Arabia, India.
Habitat: semi-desert scrub vegetation, deciduous bushland, shady localities along streams, sandy and gravelly soils, dry fallow land, climbing on trees.
Use: fruits edible, Arabs make an intoxicating drink; flowers are added to food; traditional medicine.
Content: alkaloids: cocsulinin, anticancer properties, kurramine with anticholesterinase activity; cocsoline, penduline, tetradine and isotrilobine are antiplasmodial.
BotanyShrub, much-branched, climbing or scandent, of the drier tropics and subtropics.
Flowers: dioecious.
Fruit: 1 - 3 obovoid, flattened drupes, dark red, single-seeded.