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Useful Tropical Plants

Vanilla africana

Lindl.

Orchidaceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

No Image.

General Information

Vanilla africana is a succulent-stemmed, perennial climbing plant, producing a long stem. The plant grows into trees, supporting itself by means of aerial roots that are produced from the stem nodes. It is often epiphytic, or becomes epiphytic as the lower portion of the stem withers and dies[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The plant is sometimes used locally as a source of fibre and medicines.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

West tropical Africa - Guinea to Gabon.

Habitat

Primary and secondary forests, dense shrubby vegetation and in plantations at elevations from sea level up to 900 metres[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Properties

HabitPerennial Climber
Height0.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The heated leaves are pounded with a capsicum pepper and the sap is applied into the ear to cure inflammation[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Boiled leaves are put between two mats on which a woman suffering from a painful menstruation has to lay face-down to get relief[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Other Uses

The aerial roots are used as strings for a number of stringed instruments such as guitars in Ghana and Gabon and mandolins in DR Congo[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vanilla+africana>

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