Common Name:

General Information

Rothmannia whitfieldii is an evergreen shrub or small tree that can grow up to 15 metres tall.
A popular dye plant in the regions where it grows wild. The plant is also gathered from the wild for a number of local medical applications. An attractive ornamental plant with potential for the garden, it is particularly valued for its large, pendulous, sweet-scented, white or brownish-white flowers[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to Sudan, south to Angola, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

Habitat

Forest undergrowth, often in old secondary forest, but also in savannah woodland, at elevations up to 1,700 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

The charred fruits are used to strengthen palm wine[].

Medicinal

The plant is considered to possess febrifugal, anti-diarrhoeic and oxytocic properties[].

The fruit juice is applied externally to promote healing in a range of skin conditions including leprous areas; sores; eczema, especially on the toes; and wounds[].

Drinking cold water in which chips of the root bark have been steeped provokes abundant expectoration and is used to give relief for asthma sufferers[].
The root ash is used as a cicatrizant on wounds and to treat eczema on the toes[].

Other Uses

The inky sap is used for dyeing the skin[].


The fruit juice and fresh seeds contain a blue-black dye, which is widely used in tropical Africa to dye or decorate cloth; as a cosmetic for body decoration; to mark an outline for tattooing; to rub into tribal markings in the skin to make them more conspicuous; and as an ink[, ]. The dye is said to be permanent[].
To obtain the dye, the fruit is heated on a fire then crushed. The black liquid obtained can be mixed up with charcoal powder for drawing designs[]. The colour can be changed to greyish-blue by adding lemon juice on the entire dyed cloth or on some designs only[]. The dye is sometimes mixed together with dye prepared from the pods and seeds of Piliostigma thonningii[].

The wood is hard and used for hoe-handles[].

Propagation

Seed -

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