Pouzolzia guineensis
Benth.
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A herb. It can be woody at the base. It grows 1-2 m tall. It varies a lot. It can grow each year from seed or last for a few years. The leaves are alternate and simple. The leaf stalk is about 3 cm long. The blade is sword shaped or oval and 2-9 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The flowers are in groups on the axils of leaves. There are 1-2 female flowers and several male flowers. The fruit is flat and dry. It is 2 mm long.
Edible Uses
The leaves are eaten as a cooked vegetable and are popular locally.
Traditional Uses
The leaves are eaten as a cooked vegetable.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
The leaf sap is taken in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. A leaf decoction is drunk to remedy vomiting during pregnancy. The leaves are used to heal wounds and cure stomach-aches. A mixture of the leaves, kneaded with kaolin, is used in the treatment of asthma. A decoction of the whole plant is taken as an aphrodisiac. A trace of alkaloid has been reported in the leaf, but otherwise no phytochemical information is available.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in open places and near villages in the forest zone of West Africa. It is often in moist shaded woodland. It grows between 600-1,300 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, Angola, Asia, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial-Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, West Africa,
Cultivation
The plant is a considered to be a weed of agriculture, especially of tree crops such as cacao and cola. It is also a host of the cotton stainer, Dysdercus superstitiosus, which is a pest of cotton, rice and peanuts. A very variable plant.
Other Information
It is popular locally.
Notes
There are 50 Pouzolzia species. There are 14 Pouzolzia species in tropical America.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Duge, Foto suri, Meteme, Monna, Nana, Nonono
References (5)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 5. Kew.
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 430
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 96
- Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 223
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
