It is native from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; and naturalized in China, Bangladesh, different ranges of Himalayan and Puerto Rico.

[5] A decoction or extract of the roots is used for diarrhea, jaundice, venereal disease, rheumatism, snake-bites, colic, fever, to calm people with anxiety or epilepsy, and to lower blood pressure.

The macerated root, or sometimes the pulped fruit, is used for a variety of skin conditions, and the bark, twigs, and leaves are used as a purgative and emetic.

[5] Every part of the tree is toxic,[7] and this is put to use with a paste made from the pulverized root being coated on arrow tips and spears for hunting, and by being mixed with cassava meal to make rat poison.

[8] The plant contains a number of chemical compounds used by the pharmaceutical industry; these include reserpine, reserpinine, deserpidine, ajmalicine, and ajmaline.