Common Name:

General Information

Pouzolzia guineensis is an erect, branched, annual to short-lived perennial plant with stems that become somewhat woody at the base; it usually grows up to 1 metre tall, occasionally to 2 metres[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Central African Republic and DR Congo, south to Angola, Tanzania and Madagascar. Also in Ethiopia.

Habitat

Secondary forests; riverine forest in savannah areas; humid wooded grassland; open places: lake sides, forest edges and clearings, way sides, villages, rubbish; gregarious, very common; in shade under trees; sometimes among rocks; to 1,300 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Perennial
Height	0.80 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is a considered to be a weed of agriculture, especially of tree crops such as cacao and cola. It is also a host of the cotton stainer, Dysdercus superstitiosus, which is a pest of cotton, rice and peanuts[].
A very variable plant[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[].

Medicinal

The leaf sap is taken in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery[]. A leaf decoction is drunk to remedy vomiting during pregnancy[]. The leaves are used to heal wounds and cure stomach-aches. A mixture of the leaves, kneaded with kaolin, is used in the treatment of asthma[].

A decoction of the whole plant is taken as an aphrodisiac[].

A trace of alkaloid has been reported in the leaf, but otherwise no phytochemical information is available[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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