Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Al·sto·nia Pronunciation:
ol-'stO-nE-& Function:
noun : a genus of trees or shrubs (family Apocynaceae) found in tropical Asia,Australia, and Polynesia having white funnel-shaped flowers and including several (especially
A. constricta) whose bark has been used medicinally for its antiperiodic and antipyretic properties(as in the treatment of malaria)
Aláston /'ol-st&n/,
Charles (1683–1760), British physician and botanist. Alston was a lecturer in botany and materia medicaat the University of Edinburgh. He was noted for being a staunch opponent of the Linnaean system of classification. The genus
Alstonia was named in his honor in 1810.
