Common Name:

General Information

Combretum paniculatum is a scandent shrub or robust liane attaining 15 metres length[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It produces vivid scarlet flowers during the dry season; they are very spectacular and the plant is worthy of cultivation[].

Known Hazards

Fruits eaten by children at Ikire, S Nigeria, made them very ill and were found to have a paralysing action on test animals, an effect analogous to that of acetycholine[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Soudanian humid forest and into savannah fringing forest[]. Gallery forests[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Climber
Height	12.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Plants are tolerant of seasonal inundation[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves[]. The leaves are used in soups and are often cooked with other vegetables[]. In Sierra Leone the Mende name hakpanamoi implies that when put in with spinach it makes the whole pleasantly 'slippery' due to their viscid nature. Chemical analysis has recorded 50% carbohydrates, 20.2% protein and 1.3% fatty substances[].

Flowers[]. It is recorded that children suck the flowers to get the nectar[]

Medicinal

An infusion of roots, leaves and stems is used as a garli medicine[]. Garli (Fula) is a condition of 'stomach staggers' affecting all cattle[].

The tomentum off the leaves is taken in draught to prevent vomiting[].
The leaf-sap is applied externally in the treatment of gonorrhoea[]. Leaves that have had galls on them are ground up with salt and the paste is applied to the tongue and inside the mouth of babies with stomatitis[]. A decoction of galled leaves is used in hipbaths and vaginal douches for the trreatment of haemorrhoids[].

The roots, crushed with a pimento, are used as an enema to treat haemorrhoids[]. An aqueous decoction of the roots is used as a treatment for diarrhoea, stomach-ache, gonorrhoea and fever[].

The sap expressed from freshly ground-up flowers is used to treat conjunctivitis and other eye-troubles[]. The aqueous extract of the inflorescence has shown some action against carcinomous tumours[].

Other Uses

The stems are used to make a rope, to weave into winnowing baskets, whilst the stems and roots are used to tie up beehives[].

The wood is said to be good for implement-handles[].

Propagation

Seed -

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