Common Name:

General Information

Grewia lasiodiscus is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 6 metres tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Senegal to northern Nigeria.

Habitat

Savannah, fallow land and gallery forest[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	5.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. It is also used as a condiment[]. The fruit is a brown globose drupe 7 - 12mm in diameter[].
The fruit is sometimes made into a fermented beverage[].

Medicinal

Grewia species are valued in many cultures for their medicinal virtues. The main medicinal action appears to come from the mucilage that is found in the leaves, stems and roots, which has been shown to have soothing and healing properties. Taken internally it is often used as a remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery, for example, whilst externally it is applied to wounds, cuts, ulcers, irritations etc. The plant can be taken as a simple infusion or decoction, or it can be applied topically as a poultice of the plant, or the mucilage can be extracted from the plant, if required, by maceration and then decoction.
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A maceration of the root is drunk to treat intercostal pain, female sterility and urinary retention. It is also drunk or used in baths to treat diarrhoea and as a mild aphrodisiac[]. The root is also used to control fever, pain and vomiting[].
A paste of the freshly ground root is applied as a poultice on the chest and also drunk in the treatment of intercostal pain and stiffness of the limbs[].

The branch and the pounded bark are cooked with food to prepare a sauce eaten as a remedy for stomach problems[]. A maceration of the bark fibre is drunk for the treatment of diarrhoea and constipation[].

A maceration of the leaf is drunk to treat urinary retention[].

The root contains saponins, tannins and terpenes[].
The bark and flowers contain farnesol, which has shown spasmolytic effects on the smooth muscle fibre of intestines and sedative activity in case of over-excitement[].

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the bark is made into cordage[].

The bark is used to cover groundnut baskets[].

The stem is used for wickerwork, baskets and fish traps[].

The twigs are used as toothbrushes[].

The bark is used to precipitate impurities in traditional beer making[].

Propagation

Seed - soaking in sulphuric acid for 60 minutes, followed by soaking in water for 24 hours gave the best results in germination experiments in Burkina Faso, with germination rates of about 40%[].

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