Strophanthus sarmentosus grows as either a deciduous shrub or as a liana up to 40 metres (130 ft) long, with a stem diameter up to 15 centimetres (6 in).

Its fragrant flowers feature a white to purple corolla, red or purple-streaked on the inside.

Strophanthus sarmentosus is native from west and central tropical Africa to Uganda and Angola.

The numerous local medicinal uses of S. sarmentosus include treatment of joint pain, head lice, eye conditions and venereal disease.

[2] Botanist John Baldwin discovered that Strophanthus sarmentosus was a natural source of the steroid hormone cortisone and was used in the early manufacture of cortisone-based drugs.