The Strychnos henningsii or Muteta (Kikuyu) is a small, branchy tree with a clean green-red stem. Important for use as shade in dry forests, wooded hillsides, and stream banks, this species is particularly useful when it comes to protecting soils from water erosion. Despite the fact that the Muteta’s bark contains a alkaloid that can paralyze humans if consumed, it is cautiously used in African traditional medicine. Local populations may use this tree to treat a variety of ailments, such ass rheumatism, syphilis, gastrointestinal disorders, and even snake bites. In the future, it could potentially be developed to be used as an antinociceptive or antispasmodic drug. In the meantime, those less-interested in its medicinal properties will find the Strychnos henningsii well-suited when it comes to live fencing, timber, hut poles, and tool handles.

—

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2