Curculigo pilosa
(Schumach. & Thonn.) Engl.
Hypericaceae
Curculigo gallabatensis Schweinf. ex Baker
Curculigo minor Guinea
Curculigo multiflora C.Zimudzi
Gethyllis pilosa Schumach. & Thonn.
Common Name:
General Information
Curculigo pilosa is an erect, herbaceous, perennial plant growing from a short, stout, rhizomatous rootstock; it produces a cluster of grass-like leaves around 6 - 45cm tall[
308- Title
- Flora Zambesiaca
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.
Known Hazards
The root-stock is held to be non-poisonous-332].
Botanical References
308- Title
- Flora Zambesiaca
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
Range
Tropical Africa - widespread from Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia, south to Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar
Habitat
Widely dispersed in seasonally marshy savannah[
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
Properties
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.30 m |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
The seed capsule is eaten[
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
The peduncle of the flower on fertilisation retracts the capsule down to the ground at the base of the plant. It has medicinal usages: in N Nigeria as a purgative, and in Congo (Brazzaville) as a remedy for hernia. In Central African Republic the root reduced to a pulp is applied topically to swellings held to be of fetish origin by porcupines or by aardvark[
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
Medicinal
The roots are considered to be aphrodisiac, astringent, demulcent and purgative[
]. They are used in the treatment of conditions such as leukaemia, gonorrhoea, coughs[
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
