Description

Green Monkey Orange ( Genus Strychnos ), are small, deciduous trees with many branches and irregular growth forms. The fruit are huge (up to 12cm in diameter) and take very long to ripen, with a thick husk protecting the fleshy pulp and densely-packed seeds.

Humans eat the pulp of the fruit (it is often dried and powdered for preservation). The wood of the Green Monkey Orange lends itself to carving, as does the husks of the fruit of both species, which is often sold as ornaments in curio stalls. The roots of the Black Monkey Orange are ground and taken as a tea to induce vomiting. The root, bark and unripe fruit of the Green Monkey Orange is used in traditional medicine to treat venomous snake bites; it is thought that the strychnine or similar alkaloid it contains might counteract the effects of the snake venom. The seeds of the Green Monkey Orange should therefore definitely not be eaten, though the fruit pulp surrounding the seeds is apparently delicious.