Today, the seeds are used pharmaceutically for patients with certain heart conditions that affect blood circulation.

Strophanthus kombe is found growing naturally in the tropical regions of southeast Africa.

It is not typically seen growing outside of its native region, although specimens are sometimes collected from the wild to be grown in foreign botanical gardens.

Most frequently, it occurs as a climbing vine that grows to the highest points on tall trees.

The pistil contains a style a few millimeters in length, with a ring-like head surrounding a minuscule stigma.

Cardiac glycosides extracted from the seeds reduce the heart rate but increase the force and efficiency of the contractions.

The purified compound is a white crystalline powder that is water-soluble and liable to hydrolysis under warm acidic conditions.

This plant was inadvertently used as a medical experiment by Sir John Kirk, a nineteenth-century plant explorer who brought back specimens of Strophanthus kombe for the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, United Kingdom.