Triphyophyllum peltatum

Triphyophyllum is found in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where it occurs in primary and old secondary dry evergreen rainforests. The habitat has a 6–7 month dry season. The acid, nutrient-poor soil is shallow.

Triphyophyllum peltatum is traditionally used in folk medicine in the treatment of elephantiasis and malaria. It produces many pharmaceutically active secondary metabolites, some of which have been found to have strong antiplasmodial activity. Some metabolites were found to have antitumoral and anti-multiple myeloma activity. The stems are used as tying material.

Triphyophylum peltatum is difficult to cultivate. It is cultivated in several botanical gardens: Würzburg, Hannover, Abidjan, Bonn, Cambridge University and is exceedingly rare in private collections.

The generic name Triphyophyllum is derived from triphyes meaning of threefold form, and phyllum meaning leaf. It refers to the three growth stages of the plant with three different types of leaves. The specific epithet peltatum means shield-like and refers to the discoid seeds, which have a long stalk that extends the seed beyond the capsule fruit.