strophanthus

noun

stro·phan·thus | \ -thəs

Medical Definition of strophanthus

1 capitalized : a genus of tropical Asian and African trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) that include several African forms with poisonous seeds as well as forms (as S. kombé) that furnish strophanthin

2 : the dried cleaned ripe seeds of any of several plants of the genus Strophanthus (as S. kombé and S. hispidus) that are in moderate doses a cardiac stimulant like digitalis but in larger doses a violent poison and that have strophanthin as their most active constituent