Uganda’s ‘sex tree’ at risk

Soaring demand from Ugandan men seeking to restore their sexual potency is driving a species of tree known as the Omuboro to extinction. Hannington Oryem-Orida, a professor of botany at Makerere University, compared the tree to Viagra and said that the tree is being harvested faster than it can reproduce, thus threatening its long-term survival. The ‘sex tree’, or Cit-ropsis articulata, is popular among Ugandans for its aphrodisiac properties. It grows naturally in tropical forests, where locals pull it up to extract the roots, its most valuable part. The roots are either chewed while fresh or dried and pounded into powder, which is then mixed with water to form an aphrodisiac concoction. Although there have not been any laboratory tests by National Chemotherapeutics to determine the effectiveness of the aphrodisiac, local people maintain they have been using the extraction for ages to boost their sexual prowess. But scientists fear that the tree’s potential medicinal benefits may be lost if the stock is depleted too quickly.

Independent, 27 July 2007, 33.