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MEDICINE RESEARCH / ELLIPTICA

ELLIPTICA
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A source-guided examination of Tabernanthe elliptica, an iboga relative from the Congo Basin, covering botanical classification, specimen records, the bibliography of an early chemical study and unresolved questions.

Confirmed botanical facts, claims that cannot be extended beyond a bibliographic record, and unverified ceremonial or commercial descriptions are presented separately.

The plant that can be documented

Tabernanthe elliptica (Stapf) Leeuwenb. is a shrub in the Apocynaceae family and is treated by Kew as an accepted name. It is recorded from the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Distinction from iboga

The 1989 taxonomic revision recognizes two species in Tabernanthe: T. elliptica and T. iboga. Nearly separate carpels and two mericarps bearing soft, blunt projections are among the principal morphological features distinguishing T. elliptica from T. iboga. They are closely related but are not the same species.

Records and vernacular names in the Congo

The Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo lists it as a native shrub from moist evergreen-forest edges at elevations of 350–1,100 metres. A DRC forestry guide records the former name Daturicarpa elliptica together with Ikuka and the Turumbu name Inaolo-a-ikukasa. These are plant-name records; they do not by themselves establish medicinal or ceremonial use.

What the alkaloid record establishes

An article titled “Alcaloïdes du Daturicarpa elliptica Stapf” was published in 1976, as confirmed by an IRD bibliographic source. The material verified for this page is a bibliographic record, not the full article. Compound identities, quantities and plant-part differences are therefore not presented as confirmed findings.

Possible relationship through hybridization

A 2000 technical report refers to herbarium records suggesting hybridization between T. iboga and T. elliptica. The same report describes “male iboga” and “female iboga” as indigenous classifications within T. iboga. T. elliptica therefore cannot automatically be equated with “female iboga.”

Ceremonial and commercial descriptions

Current sales pages sometimes describe Elliptica as a Congolese medicine, a gentler iboga or a heart-centred plant. No independent ethnographic or peer-reviewed source supporting those descriptions was identified in the present source set. They remain unverified commercial claims and are not presented here as established facts.

Safety and unresolved questions

No species-specific human study, standardized chemical profile, safety or interaction data were identified for T. elliptica. If ibogaine were confirmed in a particular specimen, case literature on ibogaine-associated QT prolongation and serious arrhythmias would be relevant to risk assessment. That literature does not establish the chemistry or risk of T. elliptica itself. This page provides no instructions for use or acquisition and no diagnosis or treatment advice.

Current conclusion

The evidence supports T. elliptica as a real species closely related to, but distinct from, iboga, distributed in the Congo Basin, with an alkaloid paper published in 1976. Modern quantitative chemistry, ceremonial status, human effects and species-specific safety remain unresolved.

CURATED SOURCE LIBRARY

Elliptica public-source resources

7 resources
  1. 01
    Authoritative taxonomic database

    Kew record of the accepted name, range and synonyms

    Tabernanthe elliptica (Stapf) Leeuwenb. — Plants of the World Online

    Treats Tabernanthe elliptica as an accepted name and records it as a wet-tropical shrub native to the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.

    Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 2026-07-24.

    Evidence limit: This source covers taxonomy and distribution, not medicinal use, chemistry or ceremonial use.

  2. 02
    Taxonomic revision

    The 1989 taxonomic revision of Tabernanthe

    A taxonomic revision of the genus Tabernanthe and a study of wood anatomy of T. iboga

    Recognizes T. elliptica and T. iboga as the two species of Tabernanthe and describes distinctions in fruit and leaf morphology.

    Vonk GJA, Leeuwenberg AJM. Wageningen Agricultural University Papers. 1989;89-4:1-18.

    Evidence limit: This is primarily a specimen-based taxonomic study, not a study of pharmacology, human effects or ceremonial use.

  3. 03
    Regional flora database

    Flora and specimen records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

    Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Tabernanthe elliptica

    Records a native shrub from moist evergreen-forest edges at elevations of 350–1,100 metres and provides occurrence records from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Flora of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tabernanthe elliptica. Accessed 2026-07-24.

    Evidence limit: The listed records do not establish population size, conservation status, medicinal use or ceremonial use.

  4. 04
    Official forestry guide

    Vernacular names in a DRC forestry guide

    Guide opérationnel — Liste des essences forestières de la République Démocratique du Congo

    Lists the former name Daturicarpa elliptica together with Ikuka and the Turumbu name Inaolo-a-ikukasa.

    Ministère de l’Environnement et Développement Durable, RDC. Guide opérationnel. Revised June 2017.

    Evidence limit: This is a forestry-species and name list; it does not establish medicinal or ceremonial use.

  5. 05
    Historical phytochemical bibliography

    Bibliographic record of the 1976 alkaloid paper

    Alcaloïdes du Daturicarpa elliptica Stapf

    Confirms that a paper titled for the alkaloids of Daturicarpa elliptica was published in 1976.

    Bruneton J, Bouquet A, Cavé A. Plantes médicinales et phytothérapie. 1976;10(1):20-23.

    Evidence limit: The verified source is a bibliography; the original full text has not been checked. Compound identities, quantities and plant-part differences cannot be confirmed from the citation alone.

  6. 06
    Technical report

    Technical report noting possible iboga–Elliptica hybridization

    State of Knowledge Study on Tabernanthe iboga Baillon

    Refers to herbarium records suggesting hybridization between T. iboga and T. elliptica and describes male and female iboga as indigenous classifications within T. iboga.

    Tonye Mahop M, Asaha S, Ndam N, Blackmore P. Limbe Botanic Garden / CARPE. March 2000.

    Evidence limit: This is a 2000 technical report centred on T. iboga; it does not authenticate plant materials or products in current circulation.

  7. 07
    Case report and literature review

    Ibogaine-associated cardiac-arrest case and literature review

    Ibogaine-associated cardiac arrest and death: case report and review of the literature

    Addresses a case of ibogaine-associated QT prolongation, cardiac arrest and death together with a literature review.

    Meisner JA, Wilcox SR, Richards JB. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. 2016;6(2):95-98. PMID: 27141291.

    Evidence limit: This is ibogaine case literature, not a species-specific study of the chemistry or safety of T. elliptica.