6460.000 Strychnos L.

Description of the genus

Shrubs, trees or lianes, sometimes with tendrils. Stipules mostly reduced to an often ciliate and straight rim connecting the petiole bases. Leaves opposite, sometimes decussate, or on the main axis sometimes ternate, entire, with 3-5 prominent veins (including the midvein) arising near the base of the lamina and running almost the entire length of the leaf. Flowers 4-5-merous, actinomorphic, bisexual. Corolla rotate to salver-shaped. Ovary 2- or 1-celled (spinosa). Fruit a berry, 1-2-celled, ± spherical.

Worldwide: 190 species in tropical and warm areas

Zambia: 15 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Atemnora westermannii (Westermann's hummingbird) Larval foodplant
Stenoglene obtusus (Obtuse monkey) Food plant
Temnora natalis (Natal Temnora) Larval foodplant
Strychnos cocculoides

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
angolensis GilgB,N,WDescription, Image
cocculoides BakerB,N,W,C,SDescription, Image
decussata (Pappe) GilgSImage
gossweileri ExellBDescription, Image
henningsii GilgN,WDescription, Image
innocua DelileB,N,WDescription, Image
kasengaensis De Wild.N
lucens BakerN,W,C,SDescription, Image
madagascariensis Poir.BDescription, Image
matopensis S. MooreNDescription, Image
potatorum L.f.B,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
pungens Soler.N,W,CDescription, Image
spinosa Lam.N,SDescription, Image
usambarensis GilgN,SDescription, Image
xantha Leeuwenberg[LR-lc]N,WDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Strychnos:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Strychnos
Flora of Burundi: Strychnos
Flora of Caprivi: Strychnos
Flora of the DRC: Strychnos
Flora of Malawi: Strychnos
Flora of Mozambique: Strychnos
Flora of Rwanda: Strychnos
Flora of Zimbabwe: Strychnos

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Strychnos
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Strychnos
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Strychnos
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Strychnos
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Strychnos
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Strychnos
JSTOR Plant Science: Strychnos
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Strychnos
Plants of the World Online: Strychnos
Tropicos: Strychnos
Wikipedia: Strychnos

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-25

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2025). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Strychnos.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1088, retrieved 13 February 2025

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