Auricula tree is a large, erect shrub growing 4 metres or more tall. The plant can sometimes produce a single bole that is free of branches for up to the first 2.5 metresÑŽThe tree has a wide range of medicinal uses and is the source of various materials, especially fibre. It has been cultivated in South America and on the Caribbean Islands for the production of fibres. It is well suited for intensive energy farming in arid or semi-arid regions where frost is not a limiting factor
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils.
The juice of the plant is poisonous - it has been used as an infanticide in Africa. Both the bark and the latex are widely used as arrow and spear poisons. The latex is cardiotoxic with the active ingredient being calotropin. (Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested Handling plant may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction )
