Umuzibaziba (Mitragyna rubrostipulata)
Fleroya rubrostipulata
A small-to-medium tree (to about 20m, taller in wet forest) with light grey-brown, thick, rough bark. Its large glossy opposite leaves and round, sweetly-scented flower heads are classic Rubiaceae traits. No widely-used English common name exists - it's generally referred to by its scientific name.
- Kinyarwanda name
- Umuzibaziba
- English name
- Mitragyna rubrostipulata
- Scientific name
- Fleroya rubrostipulata
- Family
- Rubiaceae
Habitat
Swamp forest, wet upland/montane forest, and forest fringing swamps and streams, from 900 up to 2,200m; notably abundant in swamp forests near Lake Victoria.
Distribution
East-central tropical Africa: Ethiopia, DR Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique; confirmed present in Rwanda, including Nyungwe forest.
Uses
Medicinal uses: the bark and roots are widely used to treat malaria; also used for firewood, charcoal and timber.
Ecological importance
As a wet-forest/swamp-forest tree it plays a role stabilising riparian and swamp-forest soils; contains bioactive alkaloids of ongoing research interest.
Ibisobanuro
kuvura indwara. kivura malariya, firewood, charcoal, Timber.