Begonia mannii
Hook. f.
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Carel Jongkind, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carel Jongkind
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Carel Jongkind, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carel Jongkind
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Carel Jongkind, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Carel Jongkind
Description
A scrambling herb in the Begoniaceae family that grows on trees in West African forests, from lowland to mountain elevations.
This description is brief — help expand it
Edible Uses
Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable. An acid flavour, they can be used like sorrel leaves (Rumex spp.).
Medicinal Uses
The leaves are eaten as a vegetable, and also used as a douche and hip bath, in order to treat inflammation of the vagina and of the uterus. The douche and hi baths are usually in combination with the bark of Cyclodiscus gabonensis.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in forests from the lowland to mountains in West Africa.
Where It Grows
Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, West Africa,
References (3)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 3. Kew.
- Laferriere, J. E., 1992, Begonias as Food and Medicine. Economic Botany, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 114-116
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
