White Berry Bush (Securinega virosa)

Family Euphorbiaceae

The root and bark are used medicinally

 The leaves are browsed by game.

 The wood is soft and supple and used in making fish traps.

Wild Medlar (Vangueriopsis infausta)

Family Rubiaceae

This species is one of South Africa's more popular veld fruits, and can be enjoyed while walking. This lovely little tree is considered to possess evil powers and not even the wood should be used for making fire. It is believed that it could cause cattle to bear only male offspring. Despite this, the plant is used extensively.

 Description

This is a deciduous shrub or small tree that varies in height from 3-7 m, depending on the habitat. It can be single or multistemmed, but usually the latter. The bark is greyish to yellowish brown, smooth and peeling in irregular small strips. The branchlets are covered with short, woolly hairs, especially when young. The leaves are single, oppositely arranged, as is typical of this family. The leaves are light green in colour, covered with soft, velvety short hairs and even more so when young. The margin of the leaf is entire. The shape of the leaf is elliptic to ovate with the net veining conspicuous below. When older, the leaves often appear twisted and are rough to the touch.

Soft, velvety, acorn-shaped buds appear either before or simultaneously with the new leaves around September to October. These open into small flowers, greenish white to yellowish in colour. They occur in clusters along the short lateral branches. The fruit is almost round, glossy dark green when young and changing to a light brown when ripe. The ripe fruit is soft and fleshy with a leathery shin that encloses 3-5 seeds embedded in soft pulp. The fruit is edible and has a pleasant sweet-sour, mealy taste. It tastes like an apple. It can be found on the plants from January to April. The remains of the old flower base can be seen on the tip of the fruit.

 Distribution

This plant can be found in woodlands, scrub, on stony koppies or in sandy valleys. It is most common in open, exposed grassland. It occurs from the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo, the North-West to Northern Cape.

 Ecological value

Antelope graze the leaves. Bushbabies, monkeys, baboons, squirrels and bushpigs eat the fruit when ripe. Butterflies and flies visit the flowers. One often finds elongated, papillate galls on the leaves that are caused by insects.

 Uses and economic value

The fruit is mostly eaten raw but in some parts it is stored as dried fruit to be used in time of food scarcity. It is said that mampoer, a strong alcoholic drink or brandy can be distilled from it or fermented to make beer. If mixed with a little water and sugar it produces an acceptable substitute for apple sauce. The fruit juice can also be used for flavouring purposes by squeezing it out in water, discarding the seed and skins. This is done often for flavouring porridge. According to Betsie Rood (1994) vinegar can be produced from the fruit. This plant has medicinal value as well. An infusion of the roots and leaves has been used to treat malaria, chest ailments like pneumonia, as a purgative and to treat ringworms. An infusion of the leaves is used for the relief of toothache. For the treatment of swelling of the limbs the affected parts are bathed in a decoction of the pounded leaves and small twigs, especially in children.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

Butterfly Bush (Rotheca Hirsuta)

Family Lamiaceae 

Rotheca hirsuta occurs mainly in grassland. It is one of the first spring flowers to appear after winter in the summer rainfall regions.

 Description
Rotheca hirsuta is a perennial herb with many, erect, unbranched, angular, annual stems arising from an underground rootstock. The stems are mostly up to 0.3 m high, rarely up to 0.5 m. The sessile leaves of R. hirsuta are arranged in whorls of three, sometimes four, rarely opposite. The shape of the blade varies from narrowly oblong, narrowly obovate, narrowly elliptic, elliptic to broadly elliptic, with an acute apex and entire margin. The leaf blades are totally glabrous and smooth to densely hairy and often somewhat succulent. The surfaces of the leaf blade are often described in the literature as glandular-punctate. A study of the leaf surfaces with the scanning electron microscope revealed that there are actually numerous peltate hairs covering the leaf surface.

 Ecology

The white, inverted Y-shaped pattern on the lower corolla lip and the long exserted, curved stamens and style of Rotheca hirsuta are adaptations to insect pollination. With sturdy, often very old, fire-resistant rootstocks, this species is well adapted to survive unfavourable conditions.

 Uses and cultural aspects

The Sotho people administered a decoction of the root as an enema in kidney disease ( Phillips 1917; Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk 1962; Jacot Guillarmod 1971; Lucas & Pike 1971 ). An infusion made from the roots and leaves is used as a remedy for worms by the Zulu (Hulme 1954; Walker 1996). According to Hutchings et al. (1996) roots are used in medicines known as imbiza yomzimba omubi which are taken for scrofula swellings and root and leaf infusions are taken as anthelmintics by the Zulus.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

White Stinkwood (Celtis Africana)

Family Celtidaceae

There is no doubt that this is an excellent tree to use in a landscape, and it is a rewarding garden tree. It gives shade in summer, and is fast and easy to grow under a wide range of conditions.

Description

This beautiful deciduous tree grows up to 25 m tall in a forest habitat, but in a garden it can be treated as a medium-sized tree, expected to reach a height of up to 12 m. In the wild, where it is growing in an exposed, rocky position it may be nothing more than a shrub,but well-grown specimens will have a single, straight bole branching to form a dense, semi-circular canopy. The trunk of Celtis africana is easy to distinguish by its smooth, pale grey to white bark. It may be loosely peeling in old trees and sometimes has horizontal ridges.

 In spring Celtis africana is very lovely, with its light green, tender, new leaves that contrast beautifully with the pale bark. The leaves are simple, alternate, triangular in shape with three distinct veins from the base, and the margin is toothed for the upper two-thirds. The new leaves are bright, fresh green and hairy, and they turn darker green and become smoother as they mature. Celtis africana leaves are browsed by cattle and goats, and are food for the larvae of the long-nosed butterfly.

 The flowers appear in spring (August to October). They are small, greenish, star-like and inconspicuous. Separate male and female flowers are produced on the same tree.A cluster of male flowers is borne at the base of the new leaf, and the female or bisexual flowers are in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are pollinated by bees. Masses of small, rounded, berry-like fruits on 13 mm long stalks follow the flowers, from October to February. When they turn yellow-brown to black they are ripe. Many birds like rameron pigeons, willow warblers, black-eyed bulbuls, mousebirds and crested barbets feed on the fruits and disperse the seeds.

 Uses and cultural aspects

The wood of Celtis africana is white to yellowish in colour and of medium hardness. It is tough and strong, and polishes well, but is difficult to work. It is a good general timber suitable for making planks, shelving, yokes, tent-bows and furniture. The African people have always used it to make a variety of household articles. It is also thought to have magical properties. The wood is mixed with crocodile fat as a charm against lightning, and many people believe that it has the power over evil and that pegs of wood driven into the ground will keep witches away.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

Flame Lily (Gloriosa superb)

Family Liliaceae 

This is the same species as the red/orange ones found in many areas but there is a great variation in colours and flower size.

The plants are poisonous and contain colchicines and related compounds. Colchicine has anticancer properties but is too toxic for human use.

Karee (Searsia lancea)

Family Anacardiaceae

The karee is a small to medium sized evergreen tree that usually grows to a height of 7 m and a width of 7 m but can be larger depending on environmental factors.

It is usually a single-stemmed, low branching tree which has a dense, soft, round canopy. The karee has a course textured bark and on older specimens it is dark grey or brown in colour while on young branches and trees it is a reddish brown-colour. The leaves are trifoliate (a compound leaf with three leaflets), possessing narrowly lanceolate (lance shaped) leaflets. The leaves are dark green above and paler green below. They do not have any hairs on them and the margins of the leaves are entire. The leaves are leathery and are often sickle shaped.

The small, inconspicuous flowers are presented as much-branched sprays which are greenish-yellow in colour and are produced from June until September. The male and female flowers occur on separate trees. The fruit are small (up to 5mm in diameter), round, slightly flattened and covered with a thin fleshy layer which is glossy and yellowish to brown when ripe. The fruits are produced from September until January.

 Searsia was named after Paul B. Sears (1891-1990) who was head of the Yale School of Botany, and lancea refers to the lance shaped leaflets.


The karee occurs naturally in Acacia woodland and along drainage lines, rivers and streams. It is often found growing on lime rich substrates. The karee occurs from Zambia in the north to the Western Cape in the south. It is found throughout the Freestate and in parts of all the other provinces of South Africa except for KwaZulu-Natal.

The fruit is eaten by birds such as bulbuls, guineafowl and francolins. Game animals such as kudu, roan antelope and sable browse the leaves of the tree which can serve as an important food source for them in times of drought. The sweetly scented flowers attract bees and other insects to them. Searsia lancea is useful in providing natural soil stabilisation and increasing infiltration of rainwater into the soil thus reducing erosion and raising the ground water table.

 The leaves of the karee provide valuable fodder for livestock but can taint the flavour of milk if eaten in large quantities by dairy cattle as a result of the resin contained in them. The tree is also an important source of shade for livestock in certain regions. The bark, twigs and leaves provide tannin. In the past the hard wood was used for fence posts, tool handles and parts of wagons. Bowls, tobacco pipes and bows were also made from the wood. The fruits are edible and were once used as an important ingredient of mead or honey beer. The word karee is said to be the original Khoi word for mead.


Historical aspects

Most of the species grown in southern Africa, belonging to the genus Rhus, have been placed in Searsia. In southern Africa there are about 111 species of Searsia. Searsia lancea belongs to the family Anacardiaceae (the Mango family) which is the fourth largest tree family in southern Africa. This family is composed of at least 80 native tree species. Searsia is easy to recognise, as the leaves are all trifoliate and have a resinous smell when crushed. Common edible fruit and seeds that belong to this family include the mango, pistachio nut and cashew nut. The resinous substance is poisonous in many species such as poison ivy.

Info: http://www.plantzafrica.com/

Nightshade (Solanum Nigrum)

Family Solanaceae

Solanum nigrum (European Black Nightshade or locally just "black nightshade", Duscle, Garden Nightshade, Hound's Berry, Petty Morel, Wonder Berry, Small-fruited black nightshade or popolo) is a species in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia and South Africa. Parts of this plant can be highly toxic to livestock and humans, and it's considered a weed. Nonetheless, ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales; and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. There is a tendency in literature to incorrectly refer to many of the other "black nightshade" species as "Solanum nigrum".

Toxicity

The toxicity of Solanum nigrum varies widely depending on the variety, and poisonous plant experts advise to avoid eating the berries unless they are a known edible strain. Toxin levels may also be affected by the plants growing conditions.

All parts of the plant can be poisonous, containing toxic glycoalkaloids at 0.524% (dry weight), including solamargine, solasonine and solanine. The toxins are most concentrated in the unripe green berries, but also occur in ripe berries. Solanine levels in S.nigrum can be extremely toxic and potentially fatal. Poisoning symptoms are typically delayed for 6 to 12 hours after ingestion. Initial symptoms of toxicity include fever, sweating, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, confusion, and drowsiness. Death from ingesting plant parts results from cardiac arrhythmias and respiratory failure. Children have died after eating unripe berries, and consumption has caused livestock fatalities. Livestock have also been poisoned from nitrate toxicity by grazing the leaves of S. nigrum.

Although numerous texts state that the cooked ripe fruit of black nightshade is safe to eat, detoxification cannot be attributed to normal cooking temperatures because the decomposition temperature of solanine is much higher at about 243 C. There are ethnobotanical accounts of S.nigrum leaves and shoots being boiled as a vegetable with the cooking water being discarded and replaced several times to remove toxins.

  

Uses
Some of the uses ascribed to Solanum nigrum in literature may actually apply to other black nightshade species within the same species complex, and proper species identification is essential for food and medicinal uses (See Taxonomy section).

Ripe berries of the "Red Makoi" variety of Solanum nigrum are edible.

  

Culinary usage
S.nigrum has been widely used as a food since early times, and the fruit was recorded as a famine food in 15th Century China. Despite toxicity issues with some forms (see Toxicity section), the ripe berries and boiled leaves of edible strains are eaten. The thoroughly boiled leaves - although strong and slightly bitter flavoured - are used like spinach as horta, in fataya pies and quiches. The ripe black berries are described as sweet and salty, with hints of liquorice and melon.

In India, the berries are casually grown and eaten; but not cultivated for commercial use. The berries are referred to as "fragrant tomato." Although not very popular across much of its growing region, the fruit and dish are common in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Southern Andhra Pradesh and Southern Karnataka.

In Ethiopia, the ripe berries are picked and eaten by children in normal times, while during famines all affected people would eat berries. In addition the leaves are collected by women and children, who cook the leaves in salty water and consumed like any other vegetable. Farmers in the Konso Special Woreda report that because S. nigrum matures before the maize is ready for harvesting, it is used as a food source until their crops are ready. The Welayta people in the nearby Wolayita Zone do not weed out S. nigrum that appear in their gardens since they likewise cook and eat the leaves.

In Ghana, the unripe green berries are called "kwaansusuaa" or "abedru", and are used in preparing various soups and stews, including the popular palm nut soup commonly eaten with banku or fufu.

In South Africa, the very ripe and hand-selected fruit (nastergal in Afrikaans and umsobo in Zulu) is cooked into a beautiful but quite runny purple jam.

In Greece and Turkey the leaves are called "istifno", and in Crete known as "stifno". They are one of the ingredients included in the salad of boiled greens known as horta.

In Indonesia, the young fruits and leaves of cultivated forms are used and are known as "ranti" (Javanese) or "leunca" (Sundanese). The fruit and leaves are eaten raw as part of a traditional salad lalapan, or the fruit is cooked (fried) with oncom.

It was imported into Australia from Mauritius in the 1850's as a vegetable during the gold rush, but S. nigrum is now prohibited for trade as a food by the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code.

 

 Medicinal usage
The plant has a long history of medicinal usage, dating back to ancient Greece. "...In the fourteenth century, we hear of the plant under the name of Petty Morel being used for canker and with Horehound and wine taken for dropsy." It was a traditional European medicine used as a strong sudorific, analgesic and sedative with powerful narcotic properties, but was considered a "somewhat dangerous remedy". Internal use has fallen out of favor in Western herbalism due to its variable chemistry and toxicity, but it is used topically as a treatment for herpes zoster.

 

 S.nigrum is an important ingredient in traditional Indian medicines. Infusions are used in dysentery, stomach complaints and fever. The juice of the plant is used on ulcers and other skin diseases. The fruits are used as a tonic, laxative, appetite stimulant; and also for treating asthma and "excessive thirst". Traditionally the plant was used to cure tuberculosis. It is known as Peddakasha pandla koora in the Telangana region. This plant's leaves are used to treat mouth ulcers that happen during winter periods of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known as Manathakkali keerai in Tamil nadu. In North India, the boiled extracts of leaves and berries are also used to alleviate liver-related ailments, including jaundice. In Assam, the juice from its roots is used against asthma and whooping cough.

S. nigrum is a widely used plant in oriental medicine where it is considered to be antitumorigenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, diuretic, and antipyretic.

Chinese experiments confirm that the plant inhibits growth of cervical carcinoma.

 Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_nigrum