COMBRETACEAE

(Indian Almond family)

• Medicinal / Folk-medicinal aspects: •
• Adverse effects: Some of the timbers are capable of inducing dermatitis. The myrmecophilous nature of a few species makes them potential dermatological hazards when growing in the wild. •
• Veterinary aspects: •

Some 600 species of trees and shrubs in 20 genera are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

The fruits of Combretum butyrosum (G.Bertol.) Tul., which grows in tropical Africa, yield a butter-like substance known as chiquito (Willis 1973).

A number of species provide useful timbers.

Combretum Loefl.

The 250 species are found in tropical regions excluding Australia. Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962) note that the leaf of a Combretum species, when used as an ophthalmic remedy, stings the eyes.

Combretum erythrophyllum (Burch.) Sond.

[syns Combretum glomeruliflorum Sond., Combretum riparium Sond., Terminalia erythrophylla Burch.]

Bush Willow, Hiccup Nut, River Bushwillow

The tree is probably irritant (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962). The fruit, when eaten, causes persistent hiccup (Greshoff 1909).

Combretum fruticosum (Loefl.) Stuntz

[syns Combretum secundum Jacq., Gaura fruticosa (DC.) Loefl.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Combretum kraussii Hochst.

Forest Bushwillow

The sawdust has been recorded as a cause of dermatitis of the hands of African forestry workers. A child who walked barefoot on the sawdust developed blisters between the toes (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962).

Hausen (1973) refers to reports of injurious effects of the wood.

Combretum micranthum G.Don

Opium Antidote, Kinkéliba

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Combretum molle R.Br. ex G.Don

[syn. Combretum gueinzii Sond.]

Velvet Bushwillow

von Reis & Lipp (1982) found records on an herbarium sheet prepared from Combretum gueinzii collected in Tanganyika [now Tanzania] that the Sukuma tribe prepare a solution from the roots to wash skin to prevent scabies, and that the ground-up roots are used as a poultice to treat sores [of unspecified aetiology]. The leaf of Combretum gueinzii, when pounded and soaked in water, yields a red dye (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962).

Combretum roxburghii Spreng.

[syn. Combretum decandrum Roxb.]

Referring to Combretum decandrum, Roy (1974) recorded that this tree thrives on soils rich in nickel, and, furthermore, hyperaccumulates nickel. A level of 3200 ppm nickel was found in this species. The contact sensitising capacity of nickel and its salts is well documented (Spruit et al. 1980, Cronin 1980).

Combretum sericeum G.Don

[syn. Combretum platypetalum Welw. ex M.A.Lawson]

Dwarf Red Combretum, Redwings

Application of the powdered root of Combretum platypetalum to cuts in the skin produces pain (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962).

Conocarpus erectus L.

[syn. Terminalia erecta (L.) Baill.]

Button Mangrove, Button-Wood, Green Buttonwood, Silver Buttonwood, West Indian Alder

Irvine (1961) recorded that the sap is used as a styptic.

Quisqualis indica L.

[syn. Combretum indicum Jongkind]

Drunken Sailor, Rangoon Creeper

Known in traditional Chinese medicine as shih chun tzu (shi jun zi; 使君子) the roasted seeds provide an efficient vermifuge. The fruits macerated in oil are applied to parasitic skin diseases (Stuart 1911).

Terminalia anogeissiana Gere & Boatwr.

[syn. Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr.]

Axlewood, Ghatti Gum, Indian Gum

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn.

[syn. Terminalia glabra Wight & Arn.]

Arjun

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia australis Cambess.

[syn. Myrobalanus australis (Cambess.) Kuntze]

The wood can produce dermatitis (Hanslian & Kadlec 1966).

Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb.

[syns Myrobalanus bellirica Gaertn., Terminalia belirica Wall.]

Bastard Myrobalan

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia buceras (L.) C.Wright

[syn. Bucida buceras L.]

Black Olive, Gregorywood Tree

Hollow twigs on this species have been reported to house biting ants (Wheeler 1942).

Terminalia catappa L.

[syn. Terminalia moluccana Lam.]

Alman Tree, Beach Almond, Country Almond, Indian Almond, Malabar Almond, Sea Almond, Tropical Almond, West Indian Almond, Indischer Mandelbaum

This tropical Asian tree is frequently planted for shade. The trunk is generally set with short woody spines. The fruit is edible.

Various species of biting and stinging ants have been found inhabiting hollow twigs on this tree (Wheeler 1942).

[Further information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia chebula Retz.

[syn. Terminalia argyrophylla King & Prain]

Myrobalan

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia corrugata (Ducke) Gere & Boatwr.

[syn. Buchenavia tomentosa Eichler]

von Reis & Lipp (1982) found a record on an herbarium sheet prepared from Buchenavia tomentosa collected in Brazil that this is a tree infested by ants.

Terminalia elliptica Willd.

[syn. Terminalia alata B.Heyne ex Roth]

Indian Laurel

Referring to Indian laurel ("T. alata Roth. et spp."), Woods & Calnan (1976) described a 46-year old male veneer preparer with extensive dermatitis who showed positive patch test reactions to this wood [the botanical identity of which was not confirmed], and to teak (Tectona grandis L.f., fam. Labiatae), Honduras mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King, fam. Meliaceae), jacaranda (fam. Bignoniaceae), rosewood (Dalbergia L.f. species, fam. Leguminosae), primula (fam. Primulaceae), and to R- and S-dalbergiones.

Terminalia ferdinandiana Exell

[syn. Terminalia edulis F.Muell.]

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia ivorensis A.Chev.

Black Afara, Blackbark, Brimstonewood, Idigbo, Ivory Coast Almond, Satinwood, Shinglewood, Framiré

This species is the source of timber known as idigbo or black afara.^a The wood dust produces dermatitis and respiratory symptoms (Orsler 1973), and is listed as irritant by Zafiropoulo et al. (1968). Woods & Calnan (1976), referencing data from an unpublished survey of sawmills and woodworking factories in Ibadan, Nigeria, noted that a sawyer who had developed mild papular dermatitis on exposed skin, when patch tested with the sawdust from seven woods he had recently worked with, showed weak positive (±) patch test reactions to the sawdust from this species and from Pterygota macrocarpus [sic; = Pterygota macrocarpa K. Schum.] (fam. Malvaceae), and a positive (2+) reaction to sawdust from Spondias mombin L. (fam. Anacardiaceae). Control tests were not recorded. The wood contains a yellow dye (Hausen 1981).

^a https://www.wood-database.com/idigbo/; accessed February 2023

Terminalia leiocarpa (DC.) Baill.

[syns Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. & Perr., Conocarpus leiocarpus DC.]

African Birch

[Information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia oblongata F.Muell.

[syn. Myrobalanus oblongata (F.Muell.) Kuntze]

Yellow-Wood

Ingestion of yellow-wood (Terminalia oblongata F.Muell.) by cattle or sheep can result in photosensitisation (Everist 1962, McBarron 1976). The hepatotoxin responsible for this was identified by Filippich et al. (1991) as punicalagin, a water-soluble ellagitannin that also occurs in pomegranates from Punica granatum L., fam. Punicaceae (Kulkarni et al. 2004). In their preliminary studies, they found that crude aqueous extracts of yellow-wood leaf produced the same liver lesion in mice as has been reported in ruminants. By contrast, oral administration of punicalagin to rats produced no adverse effects (Cerdá et al. 2003).

Terminalia schimperiana Hochst. ex Engl. & Diels

[syn. Terminalia glaucescens Planch. ex Benth.]

The root bark from Terminalia glaucescens, when applied to wounds, produces a burning effect like iodine (Irvine 1961).

Terminalia sericea Burch. ex DC.

[syns Terminalia brosigiana Engl. & Diels, Myrobalanus sericea (Burch. ex DC.) Kuntze]

Clusterleaf, Silver Cluster-Leaf

Decoctions of the roots used in herbal medicine have caused fatal poisoning (Lewis & Elvin-Lewis 1977).

[Further information available but not yet included in database]

Terminalia subspathulata King

Malayan Terminalia, Jelawei, Pelawei

This species is known to produce dermatitis in Malaya (Kochummen 1972).

Terminalia superba Engl. & Diels

[syn. Terminalia altissima A.Chev.]

Shinglewood, Superb Terminalia, White Afara, White Mukonja, Yellow Pine, Franké, Limba

This West African species is the source of a commercially valuable timber known variously as limba, afara, ofram, akom, fraké, or black korina.

Splinters of limba cause wounds that become increasingly inflamed and resist healing (Sandermann & Barghoorn 1956). Vesicular dermatitis of the fingers, apparently caused by limba sawdust, was observed by Nordin (1947). Contact dermatitis from the wood dust in ten Swiss workers was reported by Hartmann & Schlegel (1980). Other reports of contact dermatitis are cited by Hausen (1981) who failed to demonstrate any sensitising capacity and noted that although the timber is widely used in the wood industry, skin irritations are rare. Bleumink & Nater (1974b) recorded 1 positive patch test reaction to an ethanolic extract of a wood they [curiously] named European beech but identified, possibly erroneously, as this species in 20 patients allergic to woods.

The wood can also cause respiratory disorders such as asthma and bleeding of the nose and gums, and also contact urticaria (Sandermann & Barghoorn 1956, Oehling 1963, Hartmann & Schlegel 1980, Hausen 1981).

References

• Bleumink E, Nater JP (1974b) Allergic reactions to (tropical) woods. Contact Dermatitis Newsletter (15): 436-437 [url]
• Cerdá B, Cerón JJ, Tomás-Barberán FA, Espín JC (2003) Repeated oral administration of high doses of the pomegranate ellagitannin punicalagin to rats for 37 days is not toxic. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 51(11): 3493-3501
• Cronin E (1980) Contact Dermatitis. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone [WorldCat]
• Everist SL (1962) A review of the poisonous plants of Queensland. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 74(1): 1-20 [url] [url-2]
• Filippich LJ, Zhu J, Oelrichs P, Alsalami MT, Doig AJ, Cao GR, English PB (1991) Hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic principles in Terminalia oblongata. Research in Veterinary Science 50(2): 170-177
• Greshoff M (1909) Phytochemical investigations at Kew. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) (10): 397-418 [doi] [url]
• Hanslian L, Kadlec K (1966a) Dřevo z hlediska hygienického (VII). Biologicky silně agresívní dřeviny. [Wood from a health perspective (VII). Biologically very aggressive trees]. Dřevo 21: 157-160
• Hartmann A, Schlegel H (1980) Durch Holz verursachte Gesundheitsschäden in der Schweiz. [Health hazards caused by wood in Switzerland]. Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift 110(8): 278-281 [pmid]
• Hausen BM (1973) Holzarten mit Gesundheitsschädigenden Inhaltsstoffen. [Woods containing Substances Injurious to Health]. Stuttgart: DRW-Verlag [WorldCat]
• Hausen BM (1981) Woods Injurious to Human Health. A manual. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter [WorldCat] [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Irvine FR (1961) Woody Plants of Ghana. With special reference to their uses. London: Oxford University Press [doi] [WorldCat] [url] [url-2]
• Kochummen KM (1972) Personal communication to Mitchell JC from the Forest Research Institute, Kepong, Selangor, Malaya. In: Mitchell J, Rook A (1979). Botanical Dermatology. Plants and plant products injurious to the skin. Vancouver: Greengrass, p. 172 [WorldCat]
• Kulkarni AP, Aradhya SM, Divakar S (2004) Isolation and identification of a radical scavenging antioxidant — punicalagin from pith and carpellary membrane of pomegranate fruit. Food Chemistry 87(4): 551-557
• Lewis WH, Elvin-Lewis MPF (1977) Medical Botany. Plants affecting man's health. New York: John Wiley [WorldCat]
• McBarron EJ (1976) Medical and Veterinary Aspects of Plant Poisons in New South Wales. New South Wales: Dept. Agriculture.
• Nordin JV (1947) Yrkessjukdomar II [Occupational Diseases II]. Upsalla: Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri [WorldCat]
• Oehling A (1963) Berufsallergie im Holzgewerbe. [Occupational allergy in the wood industry]. Allergie und Asthma (Leipzig) 9(10): 312-322 [pmid]
• Orsler RJ (1973) Personal communication to JC Mitchell from the Forest Products Research Laboratory, Princes Risborough, England. In: Mitchell J, Rook A (1979). Botanical Dermatology. Plants and plant products injurious to the skin. Vancouver: Greengrass, p. 172 [WorldCat] [url]
• Roy S (1974, publ. 1978) Geobotany in the exploration for nickel in the ultramafics of Sukinda Valley, Orissa. Quarterly Journal of the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Society of India 46: 251-256
• Sandermann W, Barghoorn A-W (1956) Gesundheitsschädigende Hölzer. (Ein Übersichtsbericht). [Harmful woods. (An overview report)]. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 14(3): 87-94 [doi] [url]
• Spruit D, Bongaarts PJM, Malten KE (1980) Dermatological effects of nickel. In: Nriagu JO (Ed.) Nickel in the Environment, pp. 601-609. New York: John Wiley [WorldCat]
• Stuart GA (1911) Chinese Materia Medica. Vegetable Kingdom. Extensively revised from Dr. F. Porter Smith's work. Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press [doi] [WorldCat] [url] [url-2]
• von Reis S, Lipp FJ (1982) New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press [WorldCat] [url]
• Watt JM, Breyer-Brandwijk MG (1962) The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa. Being an account of their medicinal and other uses, chemical composition, pharmacological effects and toxicology in man and animal, 2nd edn. Edinburgh: E & S Livingstone [doi] [WorldCat] [url] [url-2]
• Wheeler WM (1942) Studies on neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Part I. The neotropical ant plants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 90(1): 3-154 [url] [url-2]
• Willis JC (1973) A Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns, 8th edn. (Revised by Airy Shaw HK). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [WorldCat] [url]
• Woods B, Calnan CD (1976) Toxic woods. British Journal of Dermatology 95(Suppl 13): 1-97 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
• Zafiropoulo A, Audibert A, Charpin J (1968) A propos des accidents dus a la manipulation des bois exotiques. [Accidents due to the handling of exotic woods]. Revue Française d'Allergie 8(3): 155–171 [doi] [url] [pmid]

[ * BoDD Home Page * ][ * Plant Families Index * ]
[ * Top of this document * ]

File format last modified: 01/2025
Content last modified: 10/2025

Copyright ©  1994–2025

0000-0002-2678-0784