Uvaria afzelii

Scott-Elliot

Monkey finger

Annonaceae Edible: Fruit 2 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A climber or spreading shrub. It grows 5 m tall. The branches are hairy. The leaves are oblong and 15 cm long by 5 cm wide. They are hairy. The flowers are yellow-green. The fruit are hairy.

Edible Uses

The fruit is edible. The bark or pieces of the stem are sometimes put into palm-wine to add potency, or are added to the distillate to give colour to the spirit.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The plant is held to be good for treating fevers, bronchial troubles and stomach-ache. The leaves are used in the treatment of fevers and, boiled with pepper, are taken in draught, or rubbed on the skin in cases of 'yellow fever'. The pulped leaves are eaten with (? Oil-) palm seeds for treating coughs. The leaf-sap is used as a nasal instillation for treating epileptic fits and fainting Applied externally, a decoction is used to wash a person with small-pox or mange. The bark is antitussive, diuretic, febrifuge, hepatic and purgative. It is used to treat infections of the liver, kidneys and bladder and as a cough medicine. The root is antidote, stomachic. It is used to treat inflammations of the bladder and kidneys; digestive problems; gonorrhoea; and as an antidote for poisoning due to eating bad food. The root-bark on its own is taken internally for treating catarrhal inflammations of the mucous membranes; bronchitis; as well as for gonorrhoea. Examination of the roots has shown no alkaloid present. The bark contains some tannin.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in areas that are flooded in the rainy season.

Where It Grows

Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, West Africa,

Cultivation

The flowers are very heavily scented.

Other Uses

The wood is hard.

Notes

There are 110 Uvaria species.

Also Known As

Doudouglon

References (7)

Burkill, H. M., The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Busson, 1965,
Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.
Diop, A. l., et al, 2021, Cultural importance of wild edible plants in three sympatric communities: Agni, Akyé and Gwa in the Department of Alépé (Southeast of Côte d’Ivoire). Ethnobotany Research and Applications 22:35. p 6
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 166

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