A thornless, deciduous, very peculiar tree, up to 18 m tall, trunk short, bulging, bottle-shaped. Stem is covered with a bark layer, which may be 50-100 mm thick. Bark is greyish brown and normally smooth but can often be variously folded and seamed from years of growth. Leaves are hand-sized and divided into 5-7 finger-like leaflets. Flowers are large and pendulous and up to 200 mm in diameter; they emerge in the late afternoon from large round buds on long drooping stalks and pollination by fruit bats takes place at night. Fruits are large, egg-shaped capsule (often >120 mm), covered with a yellowish brown hairs. Seeds are hard, black and kidney-shaped.

Used as expectorant and astringent and has antihistaminic properties (leaves); as a febrifuge, anti-dysenteric, antimycotic, antiviral and antimicrobial (fruits)

S A National Biodiversity Institute
International Livestock Research Institute
PROSEA (Plant Resources of South-East Asia) Foundation

Betulinic acid (bark); ascorbic acid (fruits); tannin, potassium tartrate and catechin (leaves)

For treating sickle cell anaemia (aqueous extract of the bark); used to treat fevers, to check excessive perspiration, to treat kidney and bladder diseases, asthma, general fatigue, diarrhoea, inflammations, insect bites and guinea worm disease (leaves); used to bath babies in order to promote a smooth skin (infusion of the roots); in the treatment of smallpox and measles as an eye instillation and also used as an antidote to strophanthus poisoning (fruits); to treat amenorrhoea (husk of fruits); applied as a paste to diseased teeth and gums (crushed seeds).