Griffonia is a genus of central African flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Cercidoideae. Griffonia is known to have a high concentration of 5-HTP in its seeds.
The genus includes four species of scandent shrubs and lianas native to west and west-central tropical Africa, ranging from Liberia to DR Congo and Angola. They grow in humid tropical forests, swamp forests, and thickets in coastal wooded grassland.[1]
G. physocarpa, G. speciosa, and G. tessmannii are native to west-central Africa, with G. physocarpa having the widest distribution. G. simplicifolia ranges from Gabon to Liberia.[1]
The genus Griffonia was named by Henri Baillon in honour of his friend and fellow physician Marie-Théophile Griffon du Bellay, explorer of Gabon, pioneer in the study of sleeping sickness and also of the African entheogen Iboga, source of the alkaloid ibogaine. [2]
Griffonia comprises the following species:[3] [4] [5] [1]