Zanthoxylum chalybeum
Zanthoxylum chalybeum is an aromatic deciduous shrub or tree within the family Rutaceae. It is also known as the lemon scented knobwood.[1]
| Zanthoxylum chalybeum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Zanthoxylum |
| Species: | Z. chalybeum |
| Binomial name | |
| Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. | |
Description
A shrub or tree that can grow up to 12 m in height with a large crown; the trunk is furrowed, has woody knobs and often with recurved prickles, while the bark is pale grey in color.[2] Leaves arepinnately comound with 3-5 pairs of leaflets, glabrous or pubescent, they can reach up to 7 cm long and 3 cm wide, and are elliptic to lanceolate in outline. Inflorescence, anxillary racemes or branched panicles, flowers are yellow-green in color.[3] Fuit is ellipsoid in shape with black seeds.
Distribution
Commonly found in East Africa from Ethiopia southwards to Mozambique.[2]
Uses
In parts of Kenya, Uganda and Somalia, a leaf decoction is used for the treatment of diarrhea, throat, stomach and chest pain.[4][2] The leaves are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable or brewed and drunk as tea. Stem bark and root extracts are used in decoctions to treat malaria.[2]
References
- Schultz, Fabien (2021). Ethnopharmacology of medicinal plants traditionally used in the Greater Mpigi region, Uganda (PhD thesis). Technischen Universität Berlin.
- Mwangi, Gladys (2023). Antivenin activity of herbs commonly used in Kenya against dendroaspis polylepis (black mamba) snake bite (PhD thesis). Kenyatta University.
- Beentje, Henk (1994). Kenya Trees, Shrubs, and Lianas. National Museums of Kenya. p. 372. ISBN 978-9966-9861-0-8.
- India, Jacqueline (2015). Efficacy of some medicinal plants used in various parts of Kenya in treating selected bacterial and fungal pathogens (PhD thesis). Kenyatta University.