What is "strophanthus"

Strophanthus \Stro*phan"thus\, n. [NL., from Gr. ? a turning + ? a flower.] (Bot.) A genus of tropical apocynaceous shrubs having singularly twisted flowers. One species ( Strophanthus hispidus) is used medicinally as a cardiac sedative and stimulant.

n. Any of several African plants of the genus ''Strophanthus'', some of which yield arrow poisons

n. any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Strophanthus having whorled leaves and showy flowers of various colors in dense and few-flowered corymbose clusters; some have poisonous seeds

Strophanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1802. It is native primarily to tropical Africa, extending to South Africa, with a few species in Asia, from southern India to New Guinea and southern China. The name (strophos anthos, "twisted cord flower") derives from the long twisted threadlike segments of the corolla, which in one species (S. preussii) attain a length of 30–35 cm.

The genus includes vines, shrubs and small trees. The leaves are opposite or whorled, simple broad lanceolate, 2–20 cm long, with an entire margin.

Several of the African tribes used Strophanthus as the principal ingredient in arrow poison. Plants from this genus produce toxic alkaloids and cardiac glycosides g- strophanthin (syn. ouabain), k- strophanthin and e- strophanthin. As ordinarily administered, the drug acts on the heart before influencing any other organ or tissue. Often indeed no other action can be observed. It is used to produce the drug Ouabain which was taken as a cardiac stimulant to treat heart failure, and is similar to the drug Digoxin produced from Digitalis purpurea.

• Strophanthus aambe = Papuechites aambe
• Strophanthus balansae = Anodendron paniculatum
• Strophanthus jackianus = Wrightia dubia