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botanical illustration of Purple Tephrosia, Tephrosia purpurea

botanical record · discovered

Purple Tephrosia

Tephrosia purpurea

Purple Tephrosia · Wild Indigo · Ahuhu · Auhuhu · Fishpoison · Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plant · Hola · Kavahuhu · Purple Hoarypea · Purpurinė tefrozija · Sari hamo · Tephrosia · Téphrosie pourpre · Téphrosie pourpre, Lentille marronne, Indigo rouge · fishpoison · hora · purple tephrosia · tefrósia

At a glance

Origin / distribution: Sudan, ", US(Seminole), Mexico, Guiana, Latin America, West Indies, Mauritius

Cultural traditions: not documented

Recorded uses: Bilious, Coffee, Colic, Cough

Science studied: ASH, CARBOHYDRATES, FAT, ISOTEPHROSIN

Research volume: 0 indexed records · volume only · methodology ↗

Legal status: Varies by jurisdiction; not assessed in this record.

Names and identity

Family: Fabaceae

Scientific name: Tephrosia purpurea

Common names: Purple Tephrosia, Wild Indigo, Ahuhu, Auhuhu, Fishpoison, Hawaiian Fish Poisoning Plant, Hola, Kavahuhu, Purple Hoarypea, Purpurinė tefrozija, Sari hamo, Tephrosia, Téphrosie pourpre, Téphrosie pourpre, Lentille marronne, Indigo rouge, fishpoison, hora, purple tephrosia, tefrósia

History

The source record documents this plant in Elsewhere, Sudan, ", US(Seminole), Mexico, Guiana, Latin America, West Indies and 2 additional places.

It records these historical or traditional applications:

  • Bilious
  • Coffee
  • Colic
  • Cough
  • Diarrhea
  • Diuretic
  • Dyspepsia
  • Elephantiasis
show 23 more documented entries
  • Epistaxis
  • Eruption
  • Fever
  • Itch
  • Kidney
  • Laxative
  • Piscicide
  • Poison
  • Rheumatism
  • Sclerosis
  • Skin
  • Tonic
  • Tumor
  • Urogenital
  • Eczema
  • Anodyne
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Deobstruent
  • Inflammation
  • Insecticide
  • Liver
  • Scabies

This summary is limited to the cited source record.

Origins and distribution

  • Elsewhere
  • Sudan
  • "
  • US(Seminole)
  • Mexico
  • Guiana
  • Latin America
  • West Indies
  • Mauritius
  • India

Documented cultural uses

  • Bilious
  • Coffee
  • Colic
  • Cough
  • Diarrhea
  • Diuretic
  • Dyspepsia
  • Elephantiasis
  • Epistaxis
  • Eruption
  • Fever
  • Itch
show 19 more documented entries
  • Kidney
  • Laxative
  • Piscicide
  • Poison
  • Rheumatism
  • Sclerosis
  • Skin
  • Tonic
  • Tumor
  • Urogenital
  • Eczema
  • Anodyne
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Deobstruent
  • Inflammation
  • Insecticide
  • Liver
  • Scabies

Contemporary uses

Contemporary practice is not documented separately in this record.

Scientific research

Indexed records indicate research activity; they do not establish efficacy or safety.

Indexed research records

  • Draft genome sequence of <i>Rhizobium leguminosarum</i> I10 isolated from root nodules of <i>Tephrosia purpurea</i>. · 2026 source ↗
  • <i>Tephrosia purpurea</i>, with (-)-Pseudosemiglabrin as the Major Constituent, Alleviates Severe Acute Pancreatitis-Mediated Acute Lung Injury by Modulating HMGB1 and IL-22. · 2025 source ↗
  • Evaluation of Synergistic Activity of Ethanolic Leaf Extracts of Tephrosia Purpurea and Bacopa Monnieri in Ulcer Induced Rats. · 2024 source ↗

Scientific compounds

Chemical presence is not evidence of clinical efficacy.

  • ASH
  • CARBOHYDRATES
  • FAT
  • ISOTEPHROSIN
  • LUPEOL
  • NITROGEN
  • PHOSPHORUS
  • PROTEIN
  • ROTENOIDS
  • RUTIN
  • SILICA
  • SODIUM
  • TEPHROSIN
  • CALCIUM
  • FIBER
  • MAGNESIUM
show 4 more documented entries
  • POTASSIUM
  • ROTENONE
  • BETA-SITOSTEROL
  • BETULINIC-ACID

Legality

Country-specific legal status is not documented in this record.

Consult the CITES species checklist for international trade protections and listings. This is not a complete statement of local law.

Reference images

Tephrosia purpurea
Tephrosia purpurea · Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz

Sources

Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases · CC0

GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0

show claim source mapping
  • identity · DH-SRC-0030
  • documented_uses · DH-SRC-0030
  • compounds · DH-SRC-0030
  • taxonomy · DH-SRC-GBIF · source ↗
  • common_names · DH-SRC-GBIF · source ↗
  • countries · DH-SRC-GBIF · source ↗

CC0 · Dr. Duke raw CSV archive

Contributions and revisions

No published revisions are documented for this record. Community submissions enter review and retain attribution before any published change.

Dear Herb is a living journal of botanical knowledge. Its records grow through research, historical discovery, and community contributions.

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