Skip to main content

Horsfieldia superba

(Hook.f. & Thomson) Warb.

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa

(c) Reuben C. J. Lim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Andrey Efremov, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Andrey Efremov, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Horsfieldia superba is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. It is a tree found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore, and is threatened by habitat loss. It is used in traditional herbal medicine and contains an alkaloid called horsfiline, which has analgesic effects, as well as several other compounds including 5-MeO-DMT and 6-methoxy-2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline.

Description

A tree. It grows 30 m tall. The leaves are oblong and 17-60 cm long by 9-28 cm wide. Plants are separately male and female. The flowers are in clusters up to 15 cm long. The flowers are small and yellow. The fruit are 15 cm long with a fleshy aril around the seeds.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten.

Traditional Uses

Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, SE Asia, Singapore,

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in rainforests and near freshwater swamps. It grows up to 400 m above sea level.

Synonyms

Myristica superba Hook.f. & ThomsonPalala superba (Hook.f. & Thomson) Kuntze

References (1)

  • Suwardi, A. B., et al, 2020, Wild edible fruits generate substantial income for local people of the Gunung Leuser National Park, Aceh Tamiang Region. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 20:11

More from Myristicaceae