Mondia ecornuta

Mondia ecornuta is a liana that can exceed 5 m in length, producing a whitish latex when cut. The leaves are opposite, elliptic to ovate, 9–15 cm long by 4–10 cm wide, with an acuminate tip and an obtuse to cordate base. The lamina is thin‑leathery, bright green above and paler beneath. The inflorescence bears few flowers on a peduncle 1–3 cm long. The sepals are broadly elliptic to orbicular, 2–3 mm. The corolla has a very short tube (c. 0.5 mm) and five lobes of purple, dark maroon, or brownish colour, 7–10 mm by 4–5 mm. The corona lobes are bilobed and flap‑like. The fruit consists of a pair of follicles, each 10–12 cm long and 2–2.5 cm in diameter.

The species is recorded from southeastern Kenya (including the vicinity of Mombasa), Tanzania, and northern Mozambique. It grows in coastal bushland, woodland, dense forest, and mangrove margins, often on coral or limestone outcrops, from sea level up to 700 m altitude.

Documented uses of Mondia ecornuta are scarce in the scientific literature. Unlike the congeneric Mondia whitei, whose roots are widely traded as an aphrodisiac and tonic, no peer‑reviewed ethnobotanical studies specifically address M. ecornuta. The rootstock is reported to be aromatic, but detailed pharmacological or traditional use data are lacking.