Region: tropical Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon south to Congo, Angola and DR Congo.
Habitat: sandy to rocky soils; moist equatorial climate; rainforests, on riversides, in gallery forest; in deep shade; also in fallow land, secondary forests, sometimes as a weed in plantations; elevations up to 1000 metres.
Content: 1% alkaloids; carbohydrates, proteins, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, steroidal aglycones, glycosides.
Use: root and bark sap for arrow poisons; yellow, very hard wood as timber; stem to make arrows; leathery leaves as arrow-feathers.
BotanyA dioecious, evergreen, understorey shrub or small tree, to ± 3 m high.