Cnestis polyphylla, or itch pod, is a liane or scrambling shrub belonging to the family Connaraceae and occurring south from Kenya in East Tropical Africa through Mozambique and Zimbabwe to Southern Africa where it is found in coastal and escarpment forest in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eswatini and KwaZulu-Natal, and further south to the Eastern Cape. It also grows on the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion. The genus has at least 13 species with many still unresolved. They are distributed mainly in tropical Africa and nearby islands, but extend to SE Asia and China.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
We have no record of Itchpod being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Eurycoma longifolia
- Andira fraxinifolia
- Homalolepis cedron
- Cnestis ferruginea
- Austrosteenisia glabristyla
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Oxalidales
- Family
- Connaraceae
- Genus
- Cnestis
- Species
- Cnestis polyphylla
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