Correspondence
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Ethnobotany Research & Applications 8:075-093 (2010)
Elizabeth Mwafongo, National Herbarium, P.O. Box 528, Zom-ba, MALAWI. [email protected] Nordal, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O.Box 1045, Blindern N-0316, Oslo, NORWAY. [email protected] Magombo, National Herbarium, P.O. Box 528, Zom-ba, MALAWI. [email protected],Brita Stedje, Botanical Garden, Natural History Museum, Uni-versity of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, N-0318 Oslo, NOR-WAY. [email protected]
gion from the Mediterranean to South-West Asia. (Stedje 1996a). Members of Hyacinthaceae occur in a great va-riety of habitats. Most species are adapted to seasonal climates that have a pronounced dry or cold period unfa-vorable for plant growth and during which the plants are dormant. Evergreen species are restricted to subtropical forests or savannah, temperate grasslands and perenni-ally moist fynbos (Manning 2004). A few species grow in marshes or along streams and some even grow only in the spray of seasonal waterfalls. The above ground parts (leaves and stems) of deciduous species die down when the plant enters dormancy. The plants thus survive peri-ods that are unfavorable for growth by retreating under-ground (Manning 2004).
Some members of the family Hyacinthaceae for exam-ple Drimia maritima (L.) Stern (synonym Urginea mariti-ma (L.) Baker), the sea onion, has been in medicinal use since earliest times and was mentioned as early as 1554 B.C. in the Papyrus Ebers of the Middle Empire of Egypt as a cure for dropsy (Manning 2004). Bufadienolides iso-lated from D. maritima and Drimia indica (Roxb.) Jessop are cardioactive steroids that have digoxin-like effects
Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
Elizabeth Mwafongo, Inger Nordal, Zacharia Magombo, Brita Stedje
Research
Abstract
This paper reports on the findings of an ethnobotanical survey of geophytes used in 15 selected districts of Ma-lawi. The survey was initially driven by the need to as-sess the conservation status and use of Lilioid monocots of the family Hyacinthaceae. Altogether, 49 geophytes were documented as useful for food (24%), medicine (58%) and other purposes (18%). The most commonly re-ported species was Dioscorea odoratissima Pax. (Diosco-reaceae). Monocots represented 45% of the total. Mem-bers of the family Hyacinthaceae were only represented by 3 (6%) species Albuca abyssinica Jacq., Ledebouria cordifolia (Baker) Stedje & Thulin and Ledebouria revoluta (L.f.) Jessop. The study has further explored six alterna-tive methods of evaluating sampling effort and estimating species richness. Michaelis-Menten Means estimator ap-peared to be the best estimator of species richness but was not able to accurately predict species richness for all the data combined. A bootstrap estimator was found to be more accurate. It was also apparent from the survey of geophytes that species in the Asteraceae and Fabaceae are more sought after for food and medicine than hya-cinthoide monocots evidenced by fewer representatives mentioned by respondents.
Introduction
The family Hyacinthaceae
The family Hyacinthaceae formerly part of the monocot-yledonous Liliaceae sensu lato (Engler & Prantl 1930) was not accepted as a separate family until the work of Dahlgren (Dahlgren et al. 1985, Dahlgren & Rasmussen 1983) and continues to be recognized as a distinct fam-ily (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003, Stevens 2001). The family comprises ± 40 genera and some 900 spe-cies widely distributed in temperate to tropical regions, with the highest diversity in southern Africa and in the re-
Published: April 21, 2010
Ethnobotany Research & Applications76
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
(Manning et al. 2004). In South Africa, several species such as Ledebouria cooperi Jessop, Ledebouria inquinata Jessop, Ledebouria ovatifolia (Baker) Jessop, Ledebouria revoluta (L.f.) Jessop, Ornithogalum saundersiae Baker, Ornithogalum thyrsoides Jacq., and several members of subfamily Urgineoideae are poisonous to grazing animals (Manning 2004). The toxic compound (scilliroside, a bufa-dienolide) is used for poisoning rats (Pohl et al. 2000). In Malawi ethnobotanical uses are known for some members of the family, e.g., Albuca sp. from which an infusion is made of the roots that is drunk as a remedy for chest ail-ments (pneumonia) (Morris & Msonthi 1991)
Hyacinthaceae are only occasionally used for human con-sumption. In Greece, the bulbs of Muscari comosum (L.) Mill. are eaten pickled, and in France, the inflorescenc-es of Ornithogalum pyrenaicum L. are eaten as a vegeta-ble (Pohl et al. 2000). In Africa, bushmen eat the bulbs of Ledebouria apertiflora Jessop and L. revoluta (Pohl et al. 2000). Hyacinthaceae are broadly employed for purposes ranging from the treatment of hangovers, rheumatic fever, sprains, syphilis and cancer, to the bewitchment of neigh-bors and securing of good fortune (Pohl et al. 2000). Many species feature prominently in the top ten regional me-dicinal plants in trade, the most important being Bowiea volubilis Harv. ex Hook.f. Eucomis autumnalis (Mill.) Chitt., and Scilla natalensis Planch. (Pohl et al. 2000). With 13 hyacinthaceous species identified from a total of 198 taxa catalogued in their medicinal plant survey, this family was second only to the Aloaceae in popularity in Southern Af-rica (Pohl et al. 2000).
More important is the use of various species of Hyacin-thaceae as ornamentals and cut flowers. Species of Ch-ouardia, Hyacinthoides, Hyacinthus, Muscari, Othocal-lis, Puschkinia, and Scilla are spring flowers of Northern Hemisphere parks and gardens. In southern Africa, spe-cies of Eucomis, Galtonia, Veltheimia and others are culti-vated as ornamentals. Ornithogalum thyrsoides and relat-ed species are important as cut flowers (Manning 2004). In Malawi, some species of Ledebouria and Scilla are also used as ornamentals (personal observation).
Geographical, Botanical and Demographic aspects
Malawi (Figure 1) is situated in Central Africa between 9o 22’ and 17o 01’S and 32o 43’ and 35o 55’ E (Mwanyam-bo & Nihero 1998). It is divided into three administrative regions; Northern, Central and Southern. There are 26 districts. The Great Rift Valley traverses the country from north to south, and in this deep trough lie Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, comprising about 20% of Malawi’s area.
Malawi is a landlocked, densely populated country. Its economy is heavily dependent on agriculture which, rep-resents 34.7% of the gross domestic product and repre-sents about 80% of all exports. Nearly 90% of the popu-lation engages in subsistence farming (BAA 2008). The
MOZAMBIQUE
MOZAMBIQUE
ZAMBIA TANZANIA
12S
15S
36E33E
0 50 100km N
Lilongwe1A
1B1B2A
2C
2D 2E
2F
2G
2H
3A3B
3C
3D
3E
2B
MALAWI
Figure 1. Malawi and the districts visited during the geophyte survey: 1A. Balaka, 1B. Mangochi ; 2A. Dedza, 2B. Lilongwe, 2C. Mchinji, 2D. Mzimba, 2E. Nkhata bay, 2F. Ntcheu, 2G. Ntchisi, 2H. Rumphi; 3A. Chikwawa, 3B. Mulanje, 3C. Mwanza, 3D. Nsanje, 3E. Thyolo.
agricultural sector contributes about 63.7% of total income for the rural population, 65% of manufacturing sector’s raw materials, and approximately 87% of total employ-ment (reviewed in Mwanyambo & Nihero 1998). The pop-ulation is presently estimated at 12 million of which 90% live in rural areas. Agricultural products account for 90%
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
77
of Malawi’s exports; tobacco, tea and cotton are the major export commodities (NSO 1992).
White (1976) proposed a chorological classification of Af-rican vegetation and Malawi falls within the Zambezian region. Floristically, Malawi is included in the Flora Zamb-esiaca region together with the following countries; Mo-zambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Caprivi Strip of Namibia. It is known to be one of the richest in its specific diversity, and the main vegetation which charac-terizes this region is different forms of woodland and thick-et lacking evergreen rain forests (White et al. 2001). Zam-bezian woodlands comprise three major types: 1. miombo (dominated by Brachystegia spp.), 2. mopane (dominated by Colophospermum mopane (J. Kirk ex Benth.) J. Léon-ard), and 3. undifferentiated woodland. The total number of plant species in Malawi is estimated at between 5500-6000 (Msekandiana & Mlangeni 2002). Malawi presents a rich mosaic of different habitats brought about by its var-ied topography and altitudinal ranges (37-3002 m) and rainfall regimes with the average rainfall ranging from 700 to 3000 mm (White et al. 2001). From May to August, the climate is cool and dry. Average temperatures rise from September to November and the rainy season begins to-wards the end of November and extends to April or May (NSO 1992).
The populations of developing countries worldwide con-tinue to rely on the use of wild plants as a source of food and traditional medicine as their primary source of health care. This has created a demand for forest products, which cannot be met from rapidly dwindling indigenous forests (Hardcastle 1977). Ethnobotanical surveys con-ducted throughout Africa confirm that native plants are the main constituent of traditional African medicines (reviewed in Cunningham 1993). With 70-80% of Africa’s population relying on traditional medicines, the importance of the role of medicinal plants in the health care system is enormous (Cunningham 1993). Mwanyambo & Nihero (1998) noted that, in Malawi, modern health care provided principally by Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) is highly com-plemented by services from herbalists especially in the rural areas where 90% of the population lives. Herbalists are the people, who handle most local health problems. On a national scale, there is one herbalist to every 138 persons. This is in contrast to a doctor to population ratio of 1:27,000 and a nurse to population ratio of 1:14,000 for the period 1985-1990 (Anon. 1997).
Interest in ethnobotany of Malawian plants dates back to the 1970s with a benchmark study by Williamson (1974). In his book, he documented useful plants of Malawi. This was the first comprehensive study of all useful plants of Malawi as a nation, and in her book she listed 122 plant species. Other notable investigations are generally on the use of medicinal plants in Malawi (Hagreaves 1994, Mali-wichi 1997, Morris & Msonthi 1996, Msonthi 1994, Msonthi & Seyani 1994, Mwanyambo & Nihero 1998, Ndibwami et al. 1998) as well as non-medicinal plant uses of the other
tribes of Malawi (Mwanyambo 1994). The study by Mwan-yambo & Kananji (2001) on edible tubers lists some of the species that are edible especially during famine and some eaten in the form of relish. The list includes the orchids Satyrium buchananii Schltr. and Satyrium sp. (both locally known as mbuyeuye, a Nyanja term which refers to a type of vegetation with Brachystegia and Jubernadia), Sa-tyrium carsonii Rolfe, Disa robusta N.E.Br. and Disa ukin-gensis Schltr.
The urgent need to carry out ethnobotanical surveys in Malawi has been expressed by several workers (reviewed in Mwanyambo 1994) because of concern about steady loss of plants and tribal traditions through decline in natu-ral vegetation and urbanization. The present study, there-fore, addresses this issue by focusing on the geophytic flora, with particular emphasis on Hyacinthaceae.
Geophytes are plants which posses underground resting buds attached to storage organs such as rhizomes, tu-bers, bulbs or corms (Esler et al. 1999) but in this study, only bulbs and tubers are considered. A tuber is a thick-ened underground stem, and the stem tissue serves as the primary storage tissue; but unlike a corm, it has no basal plate. Meristems occur on the tuber and are com-monly called “eyes” on a potato. A true bulb is comprised of a compressed stem, or basal plate, and modified leaves called scales serve as the primary storage tissue. Exam-ples include tulip, lily, allium (e.g., onion). In the present study the collective term ‘underground parts’ will be used to refer to both bulbs and tubers
Although some geophytes are known to be evergreen, many of them survive periods of environmental stress such as summer drought or winter cold by dying back to these underground storage organs (Dafni et al. 1981). When the conditions are favorable, they resprout new foliage with inflorescences imaging before, during or at the end of the vegetative growing season. Geophytes are generally tar-geted by people for food, medicine and ornamentals. This act causes serious damage to the targeted plants and in most cases the whole plant is uprooted and dies back. Al-though few data are available on the impact of harvesting underground organs, i.e., whole plants, local depletion of plants targeted has been recorded elsewhere (reviewed in Cunningham 1994). The present investigation sought to document ethnobotanical uses of geophytes of the family Hyacinthaceae but since no previous ethnobotanical work has been done exclusively on geophytes of Malawi, this also included non-Lilioid plants to gain an overview of their use and to assess their conservation status. Furthermore, the study explored methods of measuring sampling effort and species richness among the 15 selected districts us-ing non-parametric methods adapted from mark-recapture applications for estimating population size (reviewed in Williams et al. 2007). These methods require no assump-tions about community structure (Colwell & Coddington 1995). The estimators are also known to be homologous in that richness is estimated from the preponderance of
Ethnobotany Research & Applications78
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
rare species (Colwell & Coddington 1994), i.e., the higher the proportional abundance of rare species, the greater the probability of encountering more new species with in-creased sampling effort (Williams et al. 2007).
Methodology
An understanding of geophyte use in Malawi and their conservation status required the administration of group and household interviews through the administration of a structured questionnaire. The survey was conducted from the period January to March 2007 in three phas-es; Phase 1 (Mangochi and Balaka Districts); Phase 2 (Rumphi, Mzimba, Nkhatabay, Ntchisi, Mchinji, Lilongwe, Dedza, Ntcheu Districts) and Phase 3 (Nsanje Chikwa-wa, Mwanza, Mulanje and Thyolo Districts). See Figure 1 for list of the districts numbered in phase order. Phase 1 was conducted to pretest the designed questionnaire and adjustments were made to some of the questions before going into the second phase. All in all, 87 ques-tionnaires were administered in the 15 selected districts mostly to individuals and in some cases to groups. The districts were selected to include different tribes repre-sented in Malawi. Data collected included personal par-ticulars, knowledge of geophytes and uses. To asses the economic significance and conservation status of geo-phytes data on cost and availability was also collected. Plants names were recorded on site and both scientific and vernacular names recorded. All names were verified at National Herbarium in Zomba by technicians.
Data analysis was achieved by using three programs; Mi-crosoft Excel 2003, PAST (Hammer & Harper 2004) and EstimateSWin800 (Colwell 2006). Microsoft Excel was used for univariate analysis whereas PAST was employed
8%
12%
25%
13%
8%
30%
4%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Frequency of respondends
Tonga
Tumbuka
Chewa
Ngoni
Khokhola
Sena
Yao
Trib
e
0 5 10 20 3015 25
Tonga 8%
Tumbuka 12%
Chewa 25%
Yao 4%
Sena 30%
Khokhola 8%
Ngoni 13%
Tribe
Frequency of Responses
Fig 2
Figure 2. Percentage of respondents based on tribe as interviewed in Malawi about familiarity with geophytes.
EstimateS (Colwell 2006) was used to plot a species ac-cumulation curve/collectors curve, which is a plot of cu-mulative number of species discovered within a defined area as a function of some measure of the effort expend-ed to find them (Colwell & Coddington 1994). According to Williams et al. (2007), if sampling is incomplete, the curve will show an upward trend illustrating the extent to which sampling effort might have to be increased to accumu-late more species. Six non-parametric species richness estimators, namely: ICE, Chao 2, first order and second-order Jackknife, bootstrap and Michaelis–Menten Means, appropriate for incidence-based data (observed species) were run to evaluate their performance in estimating spe-cies richness. The sample order was randomized 100 times to compute the mean estimator and expected spe-cies richness for each sample accumulation level the end result of which was a smooth curve. The 15 districts vis-ited are here treated as samples. A thorough description and formulae of the species richness estimators used in the present are well documented in Colwell & Coddington (1994).
Results
Fifty nine percent of people interviewed in the survey were female. Most respondents were from the Sena tribe (30%), and the least proportion from Yao tribe (4%) (Figure 2). Regarding age groups of respondents, 18% were over 50 years old, over half of them, 52% were 35-49 years old, 26% were 21-34 years old, and the least proportion, 2% were less than 20 years old.
Table 1 summarizes the results of interviews about plants. When asked if they were familiar with geophytes around them, the majority (88%) indicated that they were familiar
for cluster analysis. Cluster analysis is a family of multivariate statistics which attempts to subdivide or partition a set of heterogeneous objects into relatively homogenous groups (Höft et al. 1999). Dice similarity index, also known as Sorensen Index, was used in the clus-tering analysis. This index is useful for calculating the similarity index of pres-ence/absence or positive/negative re-ply data (qualitative) (Höft et al. 1999). The mathematical algorithm calculates the degree of similarity or dissimilar-ity and clusters the objects according to their overall most similar attributes, i.e., it projects clusters of objects that are more similar to each other than any other specimen (Sneath & Sokal 1973). Data on presence/absence of species collected from all the districts were used in the cluster analysis and the re-sultant table of similarity indexes were projected as a dendrogram.
8%
12%
25%
13%
8%
30%
4%
05
1015
2025
3035
4045
50
Freq
uenc
y of
res
pond
ends
Tong
a
Tum
buka
Che
wa
Ngo
ni
Kho
khol
a
Sen
a
Yao
Tribe
05
1020
3015
25
Tong
a 8%
Tum
buka
12%
Chew
a25
%
Yao
4%
Sena
30%
Khok
hola
8%
Ngo
ni13
%
Trib
e
Freq
uenc
y of
Res
pons
es
Fig
2
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
79
Tabl
e 1.
Geo
phyt
e pl
ants
iden
tified
by i
nfor
man
ts in
Mal
awi a
nd th
eir r
espe
ctiv
e us
es. L
ocal
lang
uage
s (C
h=C
hich
ewa,
Kho
=Kho
khol
a, L
o=Lo
mw
e, M
an=M
ang’
anja
, S
e=S
ena,
To=
Tong
a, T
u=Tu
mbu
ka).
Use
(F=F
ood,
M=M
edic
ine,
O=O
rnam
enta
l). P
art u
sed
(L=L
eave
s, U
=Und
ergr
ound
par
t)
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Am
aryl
lidac
eae
Boo
phon
e di
stic
ha (L
.f.)
Her
bC
him
bozy
a (T
u)X
UP
ound
, soa
k an
d ad
min
iste
r to
patie
nt th
ree
times
a
day.
Rhe
umat
ism
, Ve
nere
al d
isea
ses
Crin
um m
acow
anii
Bak
erN
kali
(Kho
), A
nyez
i w
a m
then
go (M
an),
Chi
mem
ene
(To)
XX
1U
Pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
arts
, soa
k, a
nd ta
ke th
ree
times
a d
ay. F
or s
ore
skin
, pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
arts
an
d ad
d to
bat
h w
ater
.
Sto
mac
hach
e, fe
rtilit
y,
sore
ski
n, c
lean
ing
the
birth
can
al o
f a w
oman
, A
phro
disi
ac, d
iarr
hoea
Apo
cyna
ceae
Rap
hion
acm
e w
elw
itsch
ii S
chltr
. & R
endl
eK
anga
le (L
o)X
XU
The
unde
rgro
und
part
is p
eele
d, b
oile
d an
d ea
ten
like
any
othe
r pot
ato.
Aph
rodi
siac
Ara
ceae
Col
ocas
ia e
scul
enta
(L.)
Sch
ott
Mad
umbe
(Lo)
XU
Eat
en a
fter b
oilin
g.
Gon
atop
us b
oivi
nii
(Dec
ne.)
Eng
l.X
US
liced
, drie
d an
d pr
oces
sed
into
pow
der a
nd a
dded
to
por
ridge
or t
ea.
Hea
dach
e
Sty
loch
iton
pube
rulu
s N
.E.B
r.X
UC
ut in
to s
mal
ler p
iece
s an
d ad
ded
to d
rinki
ng w
ater
.N
ew C
astle
dis
ease
in
chi
cken
sA
ster
acea
eD
icom
a an
omal
a S
ond.
Palib
ekan
thu
(Ch)
(Lo)
, Pa
lijek
anth
u (T
u)
XU
Bur
n an
d ad
d sa
lt. F
or s
tom
ach
pain
s, s
ore
thro
at
and
rheu
mat
ism
root
s ar
e dr
ied
and
poun
ded
into
po
wde
r and
a te
aspo
on is
add
ed to
tea
or p
orrid
ge.
Pro
tect
ion
from
thug
s,
head
ache
, cou
gh,
rheu
mat
ism
, sto
mac
h pa
ins,
sor
e th
roat
, attr
act
mem
bers
of t
he o
ppos
ite
sex,
liw
ombo
, abo
rtion
, W
ound
s, a
phro
disi
acC
appa
race
aeB
osci
a sa
licifo
lia O
liv.
Nye
nze
(Sen
)X
2X
3U
/LP
ound
leav
es a
nd ru
b w
here
the
rash
is. T
he
unde
rgro
und
part
is e
aten
afte
r boi
ling.
Ski
n ra
sh
Col
chia
ceae
Glo
riosa
sup
erba
L.
Then
geza
(Ch)
X4
UK
eep
unde
rgro
und
part
in p
ocke
t.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications80
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Cuc
urbi
tace
aeC
ucum
is h
irsut
us S
ond.
Nkh
akat
heng
o (S
e)X
UP
ound
und
ergr
ound
par
t, so
ak in
wat
er a
nd g
ive
to p
atie
nt th
ree
time
a da
y.S
wol
len
body
Mom
ordi
ca fo
etid
a S
chum
ach
& T
honn
.N
yam
andw
a (C
h)X
UP
eel u
nder
grou
nd p
art a
nd e
at ra
w.
Dio
scor
eace
aeD
iosc
orea
bul
bife
ra L
.C
hila
zi (C
h)X
UP
ound
und
ergr
ound
par
ts, s
oak
and
take
thre
e tim
e a
day.
To
treat
ski
n ra
sh, r
ub le
aves
on
affe
cted
ar
ea a
fter t
akin
g a
bath
.
Imm
unity
boo
ster
, tre
at s
kin
rash
Dio
scor
ea d
umet
orum
(K
unth
) Pax
Nya
nya,
Zi
nyan
ya (L
o)X
UC
ooke
d in
wat
er fo
r sev
eral
hou
rs a
nd s
erve
d w
ith
fish,
mea
t or v
eget
able
s.D
iosc
orea
esc
ulen
ta
(Lou
r.) B
urki
ll C
hila
zi (C
h),
Viya
wu
(To)
XX
U/L
Und
ergr
ound
par
t was
hed
and
cook
ed fo
r lon
g ho
urs
deca
ntin
g th
e w
ater
in th
e pr
oces
s. T
o tre
at
skin
rash
und
ergr
ound
par
t rub
bed
on a
ffect
ed a
rea.
Ski
n ra
sh
Dio
scor
ea o
dora
tissi
ma
Pax
Mak
huth
i (M
an),
Ndi
ya, M
tam
a (T
o)X
UC
ooke
d in
wat
er fo
r sev
eral
hou
rs a
nd s
erve
d w
ith
fish,
mea
t or v
eget
able
s.D
iosc
orea
san
siba
rens
is
Pax
Mio
le (L
o)X
UC
ooke
d in
wat
er fo
r sev
eral
hou
rs. H
owev
er, i
n th
is
case
wat
er is
dec
ante
d se
vera
l tim
es to
rem
ove
pois
onou
s ch
emic
als.
Mos
t of t
he ti
mes
it is
coo
ked
over
nig
ht a
nd e
aten
the
follo
win
g da
y.D
iosc
orea
san
siba
rens
is P
axC
hidy
a N
khum
ba
(Sen
a)X
XU
Und
ergr
ound
par
t pou
nded
and
rubb
ed o
n th
e af
fect
ed a
rea.
Sna
ke b
ites,
H
eada
che,
ski
n ra
shTa
cca
leon
tope
talo
ides
(L.)
Kun
tze
Mw
inim
unda
(g
uard
ian
of th
e ga
rden
) (C
h),
Din
de (S
en),
Din
da, K
hazi
khaz
i, M
adin
da (T
o)
XX
UTh
e un
derg
roun
d pa
rt is
cut
into
pie
ces,
drie
d an
d m
ade
into
flou
r whi
ch is
then
use
d to
mak
e po
rrid
ge.
As
a m
edic
ine
the
unde
rgro
und
part
is s
oake
d an
d ta
ken
thre
e tim
es a
day
. To
treat
a c
hild
’s s
wol
len
sple
en th
e un
derg
roun
d pa
rt is
cut
into
two
and
rubb
ed o
n a
child
’s b
elly.
Sto
mac
hach
e, y
ello
w
feve
r, im
prov
e fe
rtilit
y in
wom
en, s
plee
n en
larg
emen
t, an
al
prol
apse
, app
etiz
er,
porr
idge
for k
ids,
rh
eum
atis
m, l
ove
potio
n,
diar
rhoe
a in
chi
ldre
nEu
phor
biac
eae
Man
ihot
gla
ziov
ii M
üll.
Arg
.M
pira
(Ch)
XL
Coo
ked
and
eate
n as
a v
eget
able
.
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
81
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Faba
ceae
[Dol
icho
s sp
.]N
aman
deph
ule
(Kho
),X
5U
Pou
nd th
e un
derg
roun
d pa
rt, a
dd w
ater
and
soa
k cl
othe
s. W
ash
them
as
with
any
det
erge
nt.
Dol
icho
s ki
liman
dsch
aric
us
Taub
.N
thup
a (C
h),
Ngu
nga
(Lo)
, D
ema
(Tu)
XU
Pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
arts
, boi
l and
giv
e to
pat
ient
.N
ew C
astle
in c
hick
ens,
dy
sent
ery,
rheu
mat
ism
, sc
abie
s, s
hing
les
Dol
icho
s tri
nerv
atus
Bak
er
Cha
mkh
wer
e (T
u),
XX
6U
Cut
und
ergr
ound
par
ts in
to p
iece
s, s
oak
and
drin
k 3-
4 tim
es a
day
.S
tom
acha
che
Ele
phan
torr
hiza
goe
tzei
(H
arm
s) H
arm
sC
hate
ta (N
goni
), Th
etha
(Sen
)X
UW
ashe
d, c
ut in
to s
mal
ler p
iece
s an
d so
aked
in
wat
er. T
he p
atie
nt is
giv
en th
ree
times
a d
ay.
Blo
ody
diar
rhoe
a,
boils
, sto
mac
hach
eE
min
ia a
nten
nulif
era
(Bak
er) T
aub.
Suzy
a (T
u)X
UP
eel a
nd e
at ra
w.
Muc
una
pogg
ei T
aub.
Nkh
unga
(Tu)
XU
Cut
into
sm
all p
iece
s, b
oil,
add
eggs
and
hon
ey
and
adm
inis
ter t
o pa
tient
thre
e tim
es a
day
.C
ough
, ast
hma
Neo
raut
anen
ia m
itis
(A.R
ich.
) Ver
dc.
Kat
upe
(Ch)
, C
hiba
ta (L
o),
Om
bwe
(Sen
), N
jow
era
(Tu)
XX
7U
Pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
arts
and
spr
inkl
e in
wat
er a
nd
the
fish
will
floa
t to
the
surfa
ce. T
o tre
at N
ew C
astle
di
seas
e th
e po
unde
d ro
ots
are
adde
d to
drin
king
w
ater
. As
a pe
stic
ide
poun
d th
e un
derg
roun
d pa
rt,
soak
and
spr
ay th
e in
fect
ed p
lant
s.
New
Cas
tle in
ch
icke
ns, fi
sh p
oiso
n,
pest
icid
e, u
sed
to
stre
ngth
en c
lay
pots
Tylo
sem
a fa
ssog
lens
is
(Kot
schy
ex
Sch
wei
nf.)
Torr
e &
Hill
c.
Chi
kwak
wa
(Ch)
XU
Cut
into
sm
alle
r pie
ces,
soa
ked
in w
ater
, and
ta
ke th
ree
times
a d
ay.
Rhe
umat
ism
, fer
tility
in
wom
en
Hya
cint
hace
aeA
lbuc
a ab
yssi
nica
Jac
q.N
khon
kho
(Ch)
XU
Pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
art a
nd a
dd to
bat
h w
ater
.P
rote
ct n
ew b
orn
babi
es
from
dis
ease
sLe
debo
uria
cor
difo
lia
(Bak
er) S
tedj
e &
Thu
linN
khon
kho
(Ch)
XU
Coo
k to
geth
er w
ith a
n or
chid
and
use
d as
a re
lish.
Lede
bour
ia re
volu
ta
(L.f.
) Jes
sop
Chi
kola
nyen
je,
Chi
bato
(Ch)
, C
him
ati (
Tu),
X8
UP
ound
und
ergr
ound
par
t and
sm
ear p
rodu
ct
on b
ird tr
ap.
Vene
real
dis
ease
s w
ith A
loe
sp.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications82
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Hyp
oxid
acea
eH
ypox
is v
illos
a L.
f. Ek
hwiy
a (L
o)X
UC
ut ro
ots
into
pie
ces,
boi
l and
giv
e to
pat
ient
.Im
mun
ity b
oost
er,
aphr
odis
iac,
yel
low
fe
ver,
stom
ach
pain
s, T
richo
mon
as
vagi
nalis
(Lib
ale)
Icac
inac
eae
Pyr
enac
anth
a ka
urab
assa
na B
aill.
Njo
vu y
ayen
da
(Man
), C
hikh
azik
a,
Chi
khaz
iko,
M
chen
de, P
havu
wa,
(C
h), M
ambo
(Se)
, M
lozi
wan
alum
e,
Vind
indi
(Tu)
XX
9U
Was
hed
and
boil
unde
rgro
und
parts
then
add
to
bath
wat
er to
trea
t sw
ellin
gs. S
quee
ze a
nd d
rink
to
treat
sto
mac
hach
e. F
or h
igh
bloo
d pr
essu
re
pow
dere
d un
derg
roun
d pa
rt is
add
ed to
por
ridge
.
Sto
mac
hach
e, s
wel
lings
, st
omac
h ul
cers
, rh
eum
atis
m, s
kin
rash
, hi
gh b
lood
pre
ssur
e,
hear
t pal
pita
tions
, fev
er
Irida
ceae
Gla
diol
us d
alen
ii Va
n G
eel
Bw
ante
te (C
h),
B
wan
gulu
(To)
, Ja
ngul
u (T
u)
XX
10U
Pie
rce
mid
dle
of u
nder
grou
nd p
art a
nd in
sert
a st
ring
mad
e of
sis
al.
Lam
iace
aeP
lect
rant
hus
escu
lent
us
N.E
. Br
Buy
e (K
ho)
XU
Pee
l and
eat
raw
or b
oile
d.
Nym
phac
acea
eN
ymph
aea
caer
ulea
S
avig
nyN
yika
(Sen
)X
UC
ook
and
eat d
urin
g fa
min
e.
Orc
hida
ceae
Dis
a sp
.C
hika
nde
(Ch)
, C
hina
ka (T
u)X
UW
ash,
dry
and
pou
nd u
nder
grou
nd p
art.
Then
, sie
ve
to g
et fi
ne p
owde
r. Th
e po
wde
r is
cook
ed in
wat
er
toge
ther
with
Sod
ium
bic
arbo
nate
or p
ot a
shes
.H
aben
aria
sp.
Chi
kand
e(C
h)X
UW
ash
and
boil
part
in w
ater
then
eat
.Pa
ssifloraceae
Ade
nia
gum
mife
ra
(Har
v.) H
arm
s Th
obod
imbo
(Ch)
, M
wan
amph
epo
(Ch,
Lo)
XU
Pou
nd p
art a
nd ru
b on
the
affe
cted
are
a.G
onor
rhoe
a
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
83
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Port
ulac
eae
Por
tula
ca o
lera
cea
L.N
yam
gogw
a (M
an)
XX
U/L
Boi
l and
sea
son
leav
es a
nd e
at a
s re
lish.
Pou
nd
unde
rgro
und
part
and
use
to tr
eat o
ral s
ores
in
child
ren.
Ora
l sor
es
Rus
cace
aeE
riosp
erm
um a
byss
inic
um
Bak
erM
timau
mod
zi (C
h),
Bw
angu
lu (T
o),
Jang
ulu
(Tu)
XX
11U
Dry
und
ergr
ound
par
t, gr
ind
into
pow
der a
nd a
dd
a te
aspo
on to
por
ridge
. As
a lo
ve p
otio
n, d
ry a
nd
burn
the
unde
rgro
und
part
into
ash
es to
geth
er
with
hea
rts o
f a m
ale
and
fem
ale
pige
on a
nd a
dd
to re
lish
whi
ch y
our h
usba
nd w
ill e
at. T
his
will
tri
gger
him
into
sho
wer
ing
you
with
all
his
love
. The
he
rbal
ist a
lso
said
that
inst
ead
of p
igeo
n he
arts
, one
ca
n us
e he
arts
of a
mal
e an
d fe
mal
e sh
eep.
Thi
s m
ixtu
re is
mor
e po
wer
ful t
han
the
form
er b
ecau
se it
is
bel
ieve
d th
at th
e m
an w
ill b
e ac
ting
like
a sh
eep
in th
e re
latio
nshi
p, i.
e., t
he w
ife w
ill b
e in
cha
rge.
App
etiz
er, c
ure
swol
len
sple
en, h
eart
palp
itatio
ns, l
ove
porti
on
Vita
ceae
Am
pelo
ciss
us a
frica
na
(Lou
r.) M
err.
Mw
anam
phep
o (C
h, L
o)X
UP
ound
und
ergr
ound
par
t, so
ak a
nd a
dmin
iste
r to
patie
nt. F
or w
ound
s cl
ean
the
affe
cted
are
a w
ith
the
solv
ent.
Wou
nds,
sto
mac
hach
e
Am
pelo
ciss
us o
btus
ata
(Wel
w. e
x B
aker
) Pla
nch.
Mw
anam
phep
o (C
h, L
o)X
UP
ound
und
ergr
ound
par
t and
sm
ear
prod
uct o
n w
ound
/sw
olle
n ar
ea.
Wou
nds
Cis
sus
aris
tolo
chiif
olia
P
lanc
h.M
wan
amph
epo
wa
ntaw
alez
a (L
o)X
UP
ound
, boi
l and
dru
nk th
ree
times
a d
ay.
Dia
rrho
ea
Cis
sus
corn
ifolia
(B
aker
) Pla
nch.
Mw
anam
phep
o (C
h,
Lo),
Mbu
mbu
(Tu)
XU
Cut
into
sm
all p
iece
s, s
oak
and
adm
inis
ter o
n ex
pect
ant w
oman
.E
asy
deliv
ery
Cis
sus
inte
grifo
lia
(Bak
er) P
lanc
h.M
wan
amph
epo
(Ch,
Lo)
XU
Pou
nd, b
oil a
nd ta
ke th
ree
times
a d
ay.
Hea
dach
e, s
kin
rash
(m
wan
amph
epo)
Cis
sus
rubi
gino
sa (W
elw
. ex
Bak
er) P
lanc
h.N
yaka
tam
be(S
e)X
XU
Pou
nd, b
oil a
nd d
rink.
Pow
der i
n te
a or
por
ridge
.R
heum
atis
m
Cis
sus
zom
bens
is (B
aker
) G
ilg &
M. B
rand
tK
anam
wal
iche
che
(Ch)
XU
Eat
afte
r boi
ling.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications84
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Plan
t spe
cies
Loca
l nam
esU
sePa
rt
used
Prep
arat
ion
(not
e th
at th
e do
sage
per
trea
tmen
t is
100
ml u
nles
s in
dica
ted
othe
rwis
e)D
isea
se tr
eate
d
Food
Medicine
Other
Cyp
host
emm
a ju
nceu
m
(Web
b) D
esc.
ex
Wild
&
R.B
. Dru
mm
.
Mw
anam
phep
o (L
o), M
bum
bu (T
u)X
UP
ound
, boi
l and
take
n th
ree
times
a d
ay. F
or
swel
lings
, cut
und
ergr
ound
par
t and
rub
on
affe
cted
are
a.
Dia
rrho
ea, r
heum
atis
m,
swel
lings
, blo
od b
oost
er,
give
n to
wea
k ba
bies
to
mak
e th
em s
trong
aga
inZi
ngib
erac
eae
Kae
mpf
eria
rose
a S
chw
einf
. ex
Bak
erC
hika
su (C
h)X
UW
ash,
dry
and
pou
nd. P
ound
ed u
nder
grou
nd p
arts
ar
e th
en s
ieve
d to
a fi
ne p
owde
r. Th
e po
wde
r is
then
co
oked
in w
ater
toge
ther
with
Sod
ium
bic
arbo
nate
or
pot a
shes
.
Sor
e th
roat
, yel
low
fe
ver,
clea
ning
the
uter
us a
nd b
irth
cana
l
Oth
er u
ses:
1. U
sed
as a
n or
nam
enta
l. 2.
Und
ergr
ound
par
t use
d as
a fo
od. 3
. Lea
ves
used
med
icin
ally.
4. U
nder
grou
nd p
art k
ept i
n po
cket
as
a lu
cky
char
m.
5. U
sed
for l
aund
ry. 6
. Use
d as
soa
p. 7
. Use
d as
a p
estic
ide.
8. U
sed
for c
atch
ing
inse
cts
know
n as
nye
nje.
9. U
sed
as a
pes
ticid
e. 1
0. T
he u
nder
grou
nd p
art i
s us
ed a
s a
toy.
11.
Chi
ldre
n m
ake
a pl
ayin
g w
heel
out
of t
he u
nder
grou
nd p
art.
This
is a
lso
used
as
a lo
ve p
otio
n.
Figu
re 3
. Mos
t pop
ular
geo
phyt
es re
porte
d fro
m a
sur
vey
in M
alaw
i. S
peci
es th
at w
ere
men
tione
d le
ss th
an e
ight
tim
es
wer
e ex
clud
ed.
with the plants. Those who were not familiar (12%) were all between age 21 and 49. A total of 49 species were re-corded in the survey as being used by the respondents ei-ther for food (24%), medicine (18%), or other uses (58%) including as ornamentals, pesticides, for child’s play and laundry. Figure 3 illustrates the eight most commonly re-ported or popular geophytes reported with other species mentioned fewer times. Plant parts used were reported as either leaves only (4%), leaves and underground parts (6%) or underground parts (90%). Prescriptions for prepa-ration of remedies and diseases treated were also record-ed (Table 1). The 49 species listed were lumped into three major use categories (food, medicinal and other) and then further grouped into 16 use categories (Table 2).
31
18
15
1313
12
11
10
05
1015
2025
3035
Num
ber
of ti
mes
men
tione
d
Dio
scor
ea o
dora
tissi
ma
Dic
oma
anom
ala
Son
d.
Neo
rant
anen
ia m
itis
Ple
ctra
nthu
s es
cule
ntus
Pyr
enac
anth
a ka
urab
assa
na
Tacc
a le
onto
peta
loid
es
Her
bana
ria s
p
Dol
icho
s ki
riman
dsch
aric
us
Dol
icho
ski
rim
ands
char
icus
Hab
enar
iasp
.
Tacc
ale
onto
ptea
loid
es
Pyre
naca
ntha
kaur
abas
sana
Plec
tran
thus
escu
lent
us
Neo
auta
neni
am
itis
Dic
oma
anom
ala
Dio
scor
eaod
orat
issi
ma
05
1020
3015
25
31
13 13
15
18
12
11
10 Num
ber o
f Tim
es M
enti
oned
Fig
3
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
85
Table 2. Medicinal geophytes identified by informants in Malawi and sorted into major use categories. (See Figure 5.)
Species Medicinal Use Categories
Food
Dig
estiv
e Sy
stem
Pr
oble
ms
Wou
nds,
Sor
es,
Skin
Ras
hes
Gyn
ecol
ogic
al
Hea
dach
es
Res
pira
tory
Sy
stem
Pro
blem
s
Circ
ulat
ory
Syst
em P
robl
ems
Blo
od B
oost
er
Snak
e B
ite
Imm
unity
Boo
ster
Infa
nt/ N
ewbo
rn
Car
eA
phro
disi
ac,
Love
Pot
ion
Prot
ectio
n fr
om T
hugs
Abo
rtio
n
Poul
try
Dis
ease
s
Fish
Poi
son,
Pe
stic
ides
Adenia gummifera XAlbuca abyssinica XAmpelocissus africana X XAmpelocissus obtusata XBoophane disticha X XBoscia salicifolia XCissus aristolochiifolia XCissus comifolia XCissus integrifolia X XCissus rubiginosa X XCissus zombensis XColocasia esculenta XCrinum macowanii X X X X XCucumis hirsutus XCyphostemma junceum X X X XDicoma anomala X X X X X X X XDioscorea bulbifera X XDioscorea dumetorum XDioscorea esculenta XDioscorea odoratissima XDioscorea sansibarensis X X X XDisa sp. XDolichos sp. XDolichos kilimandscharicus X X X XDolichos trinervatus XElephantorrhiza goetzei X X XEminia antennulifera XEriospermum abyssinicum X XGladiolus dalenii XGloriosa superba XGonatopus boivinii XHabenaria sp. XHypoxis villosa X X X XKaempferia rosea X X XLedebouria cordifolia X
Ethnobotany Research & Applications86
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Species Medicinal Use Categories
Food
Dig
estiv
e Sy
stem
Pr
oble
ms
Wou
nds,
Sor
es,
Skin
Ras
hes
Gyn
ecol
ogic
al
Hea
dach
es
Res
pira
tory
Sy
stem
Pro
blem
s
Circ
ulat
ory
Syst
em P
robl
ems
Blo
od B
oost
er
Snak
e B
ite
Imm
unity
Boo
ster
Infa
nt/ N
ewbo
rn
Car
eA
phro
disi
ac,
Love
Pot
ion
Prot
ectio
n fr
om T
hugs
Abo
rtio
n
Poul
try
Dis
ease
s
Fish
Poi
son,
Pe
stic
ides
Ledebouria revoluta XManihot glaziovii XMomordica foetida XMucuna poggei XNeorautanenia mitis X XNymphaea caerulea XPlectranthus esculentus XPortulaca oleracea X XPyrenacantha kaurabassana X X XRaphionacme welwitschii X XStylochiton puperulus XTacca leontopetaloides X X X X X XTylosema fassoglensis X
Food Plants
A number of geophyte species are used for food (24%) being consumed raw or boiled in water. The only mem-ber of the family Hyacinthaceae which falls into this cat-egory is L. cordifolia. This bulb is mixed together with or-chid tubers to make cakes that are used as relish. Five species of yams (Dioscorea) are however the mostly tar-geted for their tubers especially during periods of fam-ine. Dioscorea odoratissima was frequently mentioned by respondents as being the most important tuber species (Figure 3), meaning that it was preferred over the other tuber species. Dioscorea species are known to have vary-ing proportions of an alkaloid dioscorine that is bitter and toxic (Mwanyambo & Kananji 2001). This is why some species known to be poisonous are cooked for long hours mostly overnight to remove toxicity. Water is decanted several times in the process of cooking. Another popu-lar famine tuber is Nymphaea caerulea, locally known as nyika (Sena). The underground part is yam-like and the most popular famine food amongst the Sena people in Nsanje district. This species is very scarce such that men must travel by boat for six hours across the Shire River to harvest it because it has been over-exploited and hence scarce (Mpaka 2008). It is harvested underwater by div-ing. It is peeled and boiled before consuming. It is served together with vegetables. However, people complain that the underground part is bitter. Other tubers are eaten raw. These include Eminia antennulifera, Momordica foetida and Plectranthus esculentus.
Medicinal plants
The 29 geophyte species identified as medicinal are most-ly used in preparations which are powders, decoctions and ashes (Figure 4). In this category, the only members of the family Hyacinthaceae mentioned were Albuca abyssinica and L. revoluta. Dicoma anomala was mentioned as the most popular medicinal plant (Figure 3) by respondents because of its diverse uses. Figure 5 sorts the diseases treated by the underground parts of the plants reported into major use categories. Interestingly, half of the uses account for the three largest categories with 17% each.
Some members of the genus Hypoxis, commercially known as “African potato,” are taken to boost the immune system especially by people infected with HIV (Ncube 1998). In the category of boosting the immunity of hu-man beings, especially those infected with AIDS, the geo-phytes involved are used in combination with other tubers and the end product of this is administered in powder form. One of the respondents, a traditional healer claimed that the drug (Figure 4A), which is a combination of sev-eral tuber species “has been proven to purify blood and raise the CD4 cell count of patients suffering from AIDS” and further claimed that “most patients had gained weight after taking the drug.” The vast number of medicinal plant species as opposed to food species is an indication of the important role played by geophytes in the health care sys-tem of Malawi.
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
87
BA18%
17%
16%11%
6%
4%
9%
4%
3%
3%3%
3% 1%1%1%
Wounds, Sores & skinrushesCirculatory system problemsDigestive System DiseasesGynecologicalHeadachesRespiratory system problemsLove portion/aphrodisiacsInfant/newborn careSnake bitesPoultry diseasesImmunity boosterBlood boosterProtection from thugsFish poison/pesticidesAbortion
Fig 5a
1%
4%
6%
7%
13%
17%4%
4%
17%
17%
2%
Circulatory 16.90141 12Digestive 16.90141 12Wounds 16.90141 12Gynecological 12.67606 9Love potion 7.042254 5Headaches 5.633803 4Infant 4.225352 3Poultry 4.225352 3Respiratory 4.225352 3Blood boost 2.816901 2Immunity booster 2.816901 2Abortion 1.408451 1Piscacide/pesticide 1.408451 1Protection 1.408451 1Snake Bite 1.408451 1 71
Fig 5bCirculatory
Digestive
Wounds
Gynecological
Love potion
Headaches
Infant
Pountry
Respiratory
Blood boost
Immunity booster
Abortion
Circulatory System Problems
Digestive System Problems
Wounds, Sores, Skin Rashes
Gynecological
Aphrodisiac, Love Potion
Headaches
Infant/Newborn Care
Poultry Diseases
Respiratory System Problems
Blood Booster
Immunity Booster
Abortion
Fish Poison, Pesticides
Snake Bite
Protection from Thugs
Fig 5bCirculatory
Digestive
Wounds
Gynecological
Love potion
Headaches
Infant
Pountry
Respiratory
Blood boost
Immunity booster
Abortion
Circulatory System Problems
Digestive System Problems
Wounds, Sores, Skin Rashes
Gynecological
Aphrodisiac, Love Potion
Headaches
Infant/Newborn Care
Poultry Diseases
Respiratory System Problems
Blood Booster
Immunity Booster
Abortion
Fish Poison, Pesticides
Snake Bite
Protection from Thugs
Figure 4. Geophyte-based remedies documented in Malawi are usually prepared in the form of (A) powders and (B) decoctions. (Photos by D. Mpalika)
Figure 5. Medicinal geophytes identified by informants in Malawi sorted into major use categories. n=71 total uses. See Tables 1&2 for details of plants and uses.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications88
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
The local term mwana wa mphepo (Chichewa) which means “Child of the wind” is the common name refer-ring to plant species and the diseases that they treat. In this study, the term was allocated to seven species, all vines, one, Adenia gummifera, in the Passifloraceae is introduced to Africa from South America. The other six are native African members of the Vitaceae family: Am-pelocissus africana, Ampelocissus obtusata, Cissus aris-tolochiifolia, Cissus cornifolia, Cissus integrifolia, and Cy-phostemma junceum. The traditional category of plant species is also known to treat different types of ailments as well (Tables 1 & 2). As a condition in the body, mwana-mphepo (Chichewa, Lomwe), which is an abbreviation for mwana wa mphepo (Chichewa) refers to an upset stomach, stomach pains or sore skin.
Other Uses
Young boys used L. revoluta to catch in-sects. The bulb is ground and smeared close to where insects are flying and they get caught in the process. Dolichos kirimandscharicus and Neorautanenia mitis are used to treat poultry diseases such as Newcastle. Newcastle disease is a highly contagious zoonotic bird dis-ease affecting many domestic and wild avian species. The disease is endemic in many countries including Malawi. In some parts of Malawi, N. mitis is also used as a fish poison and is known to kill a lot of fish when sprinkled in water.
Trading of geophytes
Half of the respondents also said that they sold the underground parts espe-cially D. odoratissima which is an impor-tant famine food and D. anomala which is popular amongst herbalists and is sold as a single tuber or as a pile. In most cases these tubers are mixed with roots belonging to different species and pro-cessed into powder. These are then sold at a price of US$7 (2006) per packet lo-cally but the price varies when the pow-der is sold to foreigners (Dr. Kaunda per-sonal communication).
Method of harvesting and availability
All respondents indicated that they har-vested the tubers by digging with hoes Figure 6) or just uprooting (Figure 7). Geophyte digging is the most destruc-tive kind of harvesting because it kills
the whole plant. Most respondents indicated that in most cases the plant died after harvesting the tubers. 72% also indicated that tuber plant species have decreased if they compare with their availability now to five to ten years ago. Despite the apparent decrease in populations of geophytes, their domestication is not popular among the public because most believe that they grow naturally in forests and that they are difficult to cultivate. During the survey, most people said that they have seen some people, especially traditional healers, grow them around their yards; the major reason being easy access for their medicinal value.
Figure 6. A respondent using a hoe to dig a tuber in Malawi. (Photo by D. Mpalika)
Figure 7. A respondent holding a Hypoxis species after uprooting it by hand in Malawi. (Photo by D. Mpalika)
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
89
Cluster analysis
Figure 8 illustrates similarities of responses about geo-phyte species recorded in the 15 districts surveyed and reveals the existence of two groups (one consisting of Chikwawa district, the other of the remaining 14 districts) that are largely different, separating early in the dendro-gram. Based on this cluster analysis, no districts are high-ly similar with each other and at most they form into seven groups with one, two or three districts each that are some-what similar but each other still showing much distinctive-ness. The division into groups is however not consistent with geography except in one instance: Thyolo and Mu-lanje are both from southern Malawi and are adjacent to each other.
Species accumulation curve as a measure of sampling effort
Figure 9 presents a species accumulation curve from the geophyte study of the 15 selected districts of Malawi.
The curve concludes with an upward trend indicating that sampling effort might have to be increased to accumulate more species (see Heck et al. 1975) in order to approach an asymptote.
Estimating species richness from samples
Figure 10 presents the performance of six non-parametric estimators of species richness compared with the species accumulation curve from the research. Since a good esti-mator of species richness is supposed to reach, or close-ly approach a stable horizontal asymptote sooner, i.e., with fewer samples, for this data set, Michaelis–Menten Means (MM Means) provided the least biased estimates based on small number of samples (ca. 2 samples) with Chao 2 a close second and ICE third. The rest of the esti-mators are rising parallel with the accumulation curve and seem to reach a horizontal asymptote after 15 samples. The MMMeans estimates generate the highest estimate (54 species) of species richness and Chao 2 the lowest estimate for the samples with 47 species. The bootstrap Fig 8a
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
0,7
0,8
0,9
1
Simi
larity
Thyo
lo
Mulan
je
Dedz
a
Rump
hi
Mzim
ba
Nkha
tabay
Mchin
ji
Ntch
isi
Lilon
gwe
Ntch
eu
Nsan
je
Mwan
za
Mang
ochi
Balak
a
Chikw
awa
Similarity
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
1B. M
ango
chi
2A.
Ded
za
2B. L
ilong
we
2C. M
chin
ji
2D. M
zim
ba
2E. N
khat
aba
y
2F. N
tche
u
2G. N
tchi
si
2H. R
umph
i
3A. C
hikw
awa
3B. M
ulan
je
3C. M
wan
za
3D. N
sanj
e
3E. T
hyol
o
1A.
Bala
ka
Fig
8b
Fig
8a
12
34
56
78
91
01
11
21
31
41
51
6
0,10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,9
1
Similarity
Thyolo
Mulanje
Dedza
Rumphi
Mzimba
Nkhatabay
Mchinji
Ntchisi
Lilongwe
Ntcheu
Nsanje
Mwanza
Mangochi
Balaka
Chikwawa
Sim
ilari
ty
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
Figure 8. Phenogram cluster analysis with Sorensen Index based on presence/absence of geophyte species used in 15 districts surveyed in Malawi using PAST (Hammer & Harper 2004).
Ethnobotany Research & Applications90
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Fig 9
0
10
30
40
20
50
1 8765432 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Number of Malawi Districts Sampled
Cumulative Number of Species
Species Observed (SO)SO 95% CI Upper Bound
SO 95% CI Lower Bound
Fig
9
0103040 2050
18
76
54
32
910
1112
1314
15N
umbe
r of
Mal
awi D
istr
icts
Sam
pled
Cum
ulat
ive
Num
ber
of S
peci
es
Spec
ies
Obs
erve
d (S
O)
SO 9
5% C
I Upp
er B
ound
SO 9
5% C
I Low
er B
ound
Figure 9. Species accumulation curve (middle curve) from a study of traditional use of geophytes in 15 selected districts of Malawi. Plotted with 95% confidence intervals (upper and lower curves). Analysis conducted using EstimateS (Colwell 2006).
010
3040
20
90
1 8765432 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Number of Malawi Districts Sampled
80706050
Fig 10 Cumulative Number of Species
ICEBootstrapMM Means
Jack 2Jack 1
Chao 2
Species Observed
0103040 2090
18
76
54
32
910
1112
1314
15N
umbe
r of
Mal
awi D
istr
icts
Sam
pled
80 70 60 50
Fig
10Cu
mul
ativ
e N
umbe
r of
Spe
cies
ICE
Boot
stra
pM
M M
eans
Jack
2Ja
ck 1
Chao
2
Spec
ies
Obs
erve
d
Figure 10. Species accumulation curve (species observed) from a study of traditional use of geophytes in 15 selected districts of Malawi compared with six non-parametric estimators of species richness (ICE, Chao 2, first order and second-order Jackknife, bootstrap and Michaelis–Menten Means) for the same data set. Descriptions and formulas of the species richness estimators used may be found in Colwell & Coddington (1994). The sample order was randomized 100 times to compute the mean estimator and expected species richness for each sample accumulation level the end result of which was a smooth curve. Analysis conducted using EstimateS (Colwell 2006) and following the protocol of Williams et al. (2007). Estimators of species richness-non-parametric estimates were used since these require no assumptions of plant community structure.
estimator however best approximated the known species richness followed by Chao 2.
Discussion and Conclusions
In the present study, members of the family Hyacinthaceae were less popu-lar with only 3 species (6% of the 49) probably because people are spoilt with choices from other plants, both geo-phytes and non-geophytes, with which they could treat various diseases. In ad-dition to this, we noticed that plants in the Hyacinthaceae were scarce in the field. This could be because most are low lying species growing in grasslands, hence they can be very cryptic. Although Hyacinthaceae were less popular in this study, members of the family have been documented elsewhere (Arnold et al. 2002) as being used for medicinal pur-poses ranging from the treatment of hangovers, rheumatic fever, sprains, syphilis, cancer, pneumonia the current study documented only 3 species of the family as being used as food and medi-cine Although the family is quite promi-nent in ethnomedicine, a few species have been chemically investigated so far (Louw et al. 2002). In addition to this, the family suffers from serious taxonom-ic problems and is in need of revision (Manning 2004, Stedje 1996).
This research has indicated that peo-ple use more underground parts that above ground parts of geophytes. The reason people say that they use more underground parts than leaves (90%) is the fact that leaves are less bitter than tubers hence they believe that the con-centration of the compounds is more in the tubers than in leaves.
Bulbous plants, though studied less in-tensively than herbs and trees regarding their medicinal potential, have proven to contain a range of unique biologically active compounds. The presence of ste-roids, cardiac glycosides and alkaloids in some species can often indicate tox-icity. Several studies have documented poisoning with symptoms such as diar-rhoea, abdominal pain, emphysema and increased pulse rate, which can be fatal (Louw et al. 2002, Van Wyk et al.1997).
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
91
The present study similarly reports that bitter tubers used as food such as Dioscorea are boiled for long periods decanting water in the process of cooking to reduce the amount of poison. Similarly, species used as medicines are also diluted in water and taken in low doses because the respondents indicated that decoctions could prove to be fatal if taken in highly concentrated doses. The amount of poison is determined by tongue testing.
Dioscorea odoratissima is a famous famine food plant in most districts of Malawi and is also known to be rare. Members of this genus are also widely used around the world for both food and medicine. Wild yam species (e.g., Dioscorea villosa L. and Dioscorea batatas Decne.) have for centuries been used as sources of medicine and food by the Aztec and Mayan peoples for a wide range of ail-ments including many female problems and to relieve the pain of child birth (Bergeron 1997). The other famine food which is said to be rare is Nymphaea caerulea. Its tubers are known to have a higher calcium, phosphorus, and fat-ty acids (Chawanje 1998).
In this study, boiling of tubers used as food sources was very common and respondents said this act has a double function; enhancing the flavour of the tubers and reduc-ing the poison which they contain. [This method is univer-sally used around the world (Arnold et al. 2002, Banguar 1993).
Morris (1989) and Hargreaves (1994) identified 50 kinds of mwana wa mphepo and saw this category as not spe-cific but referring to plants which store water and are able to produce flowers and leaves during the windy season. The problem with this definition is that not all such plants are mwana wa mphepo. This is probably why folk tax-onomy is very difficult to adopt because it may repre-sent different behavioral responses of people related to the salience of each organism (Hays 1982). Furthermore, Brown (1985) pointed out that people’s vocabulary is re-lated to their long-term interests. There is need to further research this term and see if indeed it is related to plant form and function or behavior of the people using the spe-cies included in this phenomenon. The term also contains unresolved species and hence more research into spe-cies delimitation and taxonomy is needed since certain-ty in species identification is a precondition for access to published species information related to, e.g., botany, eth-nopharmacology, conservation and propagation (Krog et al. 2006). Proper species identification is also important in relation to consumer safety.
Species accumulation curves are known to enhance the value of ethnobotanical studies and create an opportunity for cogent arguments that advance scientific and practical knowledge (Williams et al. 2007). A comparative test of species estimators in the present study raises a question of survey sampling sufficiency because of failure of 4 out of 6 estimators to approach a horizontal asymptote. It is
clear from these curves that more sampling was required and would have increased the species inventory.
The geophyte survey was driven by the need to document the use of Liliopsid monocots of family Hyacinthaceae and assess their conservation status. It is apparent from the survey that members of the Fabaceae and Asteraceae are more sought after for food and medicine than Lilioid monocots evidenced by fewer hyacinthoide representa-tives mentioned by respondents.
The most common anthropogenic pressure to all geo-phytes is tuber digging and clearing of woodlands for farming. The survey listed about 49 plant species that are most utilized. This number only represents a small propor-tion of all geophytes in Malawi. Some species were not re-ported here because they could not be spotted during field searches. Future work is therefore needed especially to go through the existing literature which will help generate new research ideas. Although this study has identified 49 geophytes from Malawi the actual number is not known. This problem is compounded by lack of a national check-list which usually acts as a guideline for such surveys. Support should also be provided for more taxonomic work in problematic genera, more ethnobotanical surveys and research towards sustainable use and conservation of these plants.
Acknowledgements
The current work was funded by the Norwegian Coun-cil for Higher Education’s Programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU). Thanks is also due to Donald Mpalika, Edwin Kathumba and Moffat Thera (Her-barium Technicians) for helping with administering ques-tionnaires and plant identification, the National Herbari-um and Botanic Gardens of Malawi for providing transport and the driver and for helping out with all necessary field arrangements.
Literature Cited
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. 2003. An update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141: 399-436.
Anonymous. 1997. Population and Family Planning in Malawi: A community nexus approach. Government of Malawi and World Bank, Lilongwe.
Arnold, T.H., C.A.Prentice, L.C. Hawker, E.E. Snyman, M. Tomalin, N.R. Crouch, & C. Pottas-Bircher. 2002. Medici-nal and Magical Plants of Southern Africa: An annotated checklist. Strelitzia 13. National Botanical Institute, Preto-ria, South Africa.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications92
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
Banquar, S.R. 1993. The role of traditional medicine in a rural medicine. Pp. 140-152 in Traditional Medicine in Af-rica. Edited by I. Sindinga, C. Nyaigatti-Chacha & M.P. Ka-nunah. English Press Ltd, Nairobi.
BAA. 2008. Bureau of African Affairs. Background Note: Malawi. www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/7231.htm.
Bergeron, K. 1997. Medicinal Plants List. www.altnature.com/gallery/wild_yam.
Brown, C.H. 1985. Mode of subsistence and folk biologi-cal taxonomy. Current Anthropology 26:43-62.
Chawanje, C.M. 1998. Nutrient and antinutrient content of underexploited Malawian water tuber Nymphaea pep-ersiana Klotzsch. Ph.D. Dissertation. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Colwell, R.K. & J.A. Coddington. 1994. Estimating ter-restrial biodiversity through extrapolation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (Series B) 345:101-118.
Colwell, R.K. & J.A. Coddington. 1995. Estimating ter-restrial biodiversity through extrapolation. Pp.101-118 in Biodiversity, Measurement and Estimation. Edited by D.L. Hawksworth. Chapman and Hall, London.
Colwell, R.K. 2006. EstimateS: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Ver-sion 7.5. www.purl.oclc.org/estimates.
Cunningham, A.B. 1993. African Medicinal Plants: Setting priorities at the interface between conservation and pri-mary health care. People and Plants Working Paper 1. People and Plants Initiative, Division of Ecological Scienc-es, UNESCO, Paris.
Cunningham, A.B. 1994. Management of medicinal plant resources: An Africa-wide overview. 1:173-189 in Pro-ceedings of the XIII Plenary Meeting of AETFAT, Zomba, Malawi, 2-11 April 1991. Edited by J.H. Seyani & A.C. Chi-kuni. Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa, Brussels.
Dafni, A., D. Cohen, & I. Noy-Meir. 1981. Life cycle varia-tion in geophytes. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gar-den 68:652-660.
Dahlgren, R.M.T. & H.T. Clifford. 1982. The Monocotyle-dons: A comparative study. Academic Press, London.Dahlgren, R.M.T., H.T. Clifford & P.F.Yeo. 1985. The Fami-lies of the Monocotyledons. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Dahlgren, R.M.T. & F.N. Rasmussen.1983. Monocotyle-don evolution: Character and phylogenetic analysis. Evo-lutionary Biology 16:255-395.
Engler, A. & K. Prantl. 1930. Die Natiirhichen Pflanzen Familien. Volume 15a. Venlag von Wilhelm Engelmann. Leipzig.
Esler, K.J., P.W. Rundel & P. Vorster. 1999. Biogeography of prostrate–leaved geophytes in semi-arid South Africa: Hypontheses of functionality. Plant Ecology 142:105-120.
Hagreaves, B.J. 1994. Mwana wa Mphempho. A tradition-al classification in Malawi. 1:239-249 in Proceedings of the XIII Plenary Meeting of AETFAT, Zomba, Malawi, 2-11 April 1991. Edited by J.H. Seyani & A.C. Chikuni. Asso-ciation for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa, Brussels.
Hammer, Ø. & D.A.T. Harper. 2004. PAST: PAlaeontologi-cal STatistics. Version 1.29. http://folk.uio.no/ohammer/past.
Hardcastle, P.D. 1977. A Preliminary Silvicultural Classifi-cation of Malawi. Forestry Research Record NO. 57. For-estry Research Institute of Malawi. Government Press, Zomba.
Hays, T.E. 1982 Utilitarian/adaptionist explanations of folk biological classification: Some cautionary notes. Journal of Ethnobiology 2:89-94.
Heck, K.L., G. van Belle & D. Simberloff. 1975. Explic-it calculation of the rarefaction diversity measurement and the determination of sufficient sample size. Ecology 56:1459-1461.
Höft, M., S.K. Barik., & A.M. Lykke. 1999. Quantitative Ethnobotany: Applications of multivariate and statistical analyses in ethnobotany. People and Plants Working Pa-per 6. People and Plants Initiative, Division of Ecological Sciences, UNESCO, Paris.
Krog, M., M. P. Falcão & C.S. Olsen, 2006. Medicinal Plant Markets and Trade in Maputo, Mozambique. Working Pa-pers No. 16-2006 Development & Environment. Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning Hørsholm, Denmark. www.sl.kvl.dk/upload/workingpapersno16.pdf
Louw, C A. M, T. J. C. Regnier & L. Korsten. 2002. Me-dicinal bulbous plants of South Africa and their traditional relevance in the control of infectious diseases. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 82:147-154.
Maliwichi, C.P. 1997. Trade in Wildlife Medicinals in East and Southern Africa - Malawi Component. Report pre-pared for TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa. Nairobi, Kenya.
Manning, J. 2004. Family: Hyacinthaceae. www.plantzaf-rica.com/planthij/hyacinth.htm
Mwafongo et al. - Ethnobotanical Study of Hyacinthaceae and Non-hyacinthaceous Geophytes in Selected Districts of Malawi
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf
93
Morris, B. 1989. Medicines and herbalism in Malawi. The Society of Malawi Journal 42:34-54.
Morris, B. & J.D. Msonthi. 1991. Medicinal Plants of Ma-lawi. Goldsmiths College, London
Morris, B. & J.D. Msonthi. 1996. Chewa Medical Botany. A study of herbalism in Southern Malawi. Part 2. Medicinal plants of Malawi. International African Institute, London.
Mpaka, C. 2008. Whether it is about floods or handouts. Daily Times Newspaper. 31st January. Blanytre Newspa-pers Ltd, Blantyre, Malawi.
Msekandiana, G. & E. T. Mlangeni. 2002. Malawi. Pp. 31-42 in Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. Edited by J.S. Golding. Southern African Botanical Diversity Net-work Report No. 14. SABONET, Pretoria.
Msonthi, J.D.1994. Research into medicinal plants of Malawi.1:173-189 in Proceedings of the XIII Plenary Meet-ing of AETFAT, Zomba, Malawi, 2-11 April 1991. Edited by J.H. Seyani & A.C. Chikuni. Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa, Brussels.
Msonthi, J.D. & J.H. Seyani. 1994. Research into Medici-nal Plants of Malawi. 1:223-231 in Proceedings of the XIII Plenary Meeting of AETFAT, Zomba, Malawi, 2-11 April 1991. Edited by J.H. Seyani & A.C. Chikuni. Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa, Brussels.
Mwanyambo, M.L. 1994. Non-medicinal plant uses of the Nyakyusa, Lower Songwe Valley, Karonga, Malawi. 1:75-88 in Proceedings of the XIII Plenary Meeting of AETFAT, Zomba, Malawi, 2-11 April 1991. Edited by J.H. Seyani & A.C. Chikuni. Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa, Brussels.
Mwanyambo, M.L. & D.A. Nihero. 1998. Medicinal Plants and Biodiversity Project. International Development Re-search Centre, Final Technical Report, Nairobi.
Mwanyambo, M.L. & S.I. Kananji. 2001. Wild yams kill: Which ones? The Nation. Nation Publications Ltd, Blan-tyre. Malawi, 18th January.
Ncube, J. 1998. African potato offers hope for sufferers. Horizon Magazine (Harare). Pp.12-13.
Ndibwami, A., E. Henry & J.D.K. Saka. 1998. Traditional Medicine in Malawi: Altitudes, practices, problems, and constraints. A working document for a workshop held at Chancellor College, Zomba, Malawi. 25-26 March, 1998.
NSO, 1992. National Statistics Office. Malawi: Demo-graphic and Health Survey. National Statistic Office, Zom-ba, Malawi.
Pohl, T.S., N.R. Crouch & D.A. Mulholland. 2000. South-ern African Hyacinthaceae: Chemistry, bioactivity and eth-nobotany. Current Organic Chemistry 4:1287-1324.
Sneath, P.H.A. & R.R. Sokal. 1973. Numerical Taxonomy: The principles and practice of numerical classification. W.H. Freeman & Co. San Fransisco.
Stedje, B. 1996. Flora of Tropical East Africa. Hyacinthace-ae. Edited by R.M. Polhill. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Stevens, P.F. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 [and more or less continu-ously updated since]. www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.
Van Wyk, B., B. Van Oudtshoorn & N. Gericke 1997. Me-dicinal Plants of South Africa. Briza, Pretoria.
White, F. 1976. The vegetation Map of Africa:The history of a completed project. Boissiera 24:659-666.
White, F., F. Dowsett-Lemaire & J.D. Chapman 2001. Ev-ergreen Forest Flora of Malawi. Royal Botanical Garden, Kew.
Williams, V.L., E.T.F. Witkowski & K. Balkwill. 2007. The use of incidence-based species richness estimators, spe-cies accumulation curves and similarity measures to ap-praise ethnobotanical inventories from South Africa. Bio-diversity & Conservation 16:2495-2513.
Williamson, J. 1974. Useful Plants of Malawi. University of Malawi, Zomba. Revised and extended edition, Montfort Press, Limbe, Malawi.
Ethnobotany Research & Applications94
www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol8/i1547-3465-08-075.pdf