Common Name:

General Information

Scleria boivinii is a perennial, herbaceous climbing plant producing stems up to 12 metres long. The leaves have razor-sharp edges, the plant often forming impenetrable thickets in scrub, bush and secondary forest[].
The plant has a range of local medicinal uses and is often gathered from the wild.

Known Hazards

The leaves have razor-sharp edges. If the scabrid parts are eaten they cause damage to the gut. Criminal use in this way has been recorded from the Liberia/Ivory Coast border region[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Central African Republic, south to Angola and Tanzania; also in Madagascar and the Comoros.

Habitat

Often forming impenetrable thickets in scrub, bush and secondary forest[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial Climber
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A leaf-decoction, from which all sharp parts of material have been removed or avoided, is taken in the treatment of coughs[].
The leaf decoction is used as a wash on snake and other venomous animal bites[]. A warm decoction is said to soothe a toothache when used as a mouthwash[].
The young shoots of this plant, together with other herbs, are cooked and given to secret society initiates to eat when the intoxicating effects of taking Tabernanthe iboga are wearing off[].

Aerial parts of the plant are used to relieve white patches of the cornea and blennorrhoea[]. A leaf-macerate is said to ease or hasten childbirth[].
The aerial parts are also compounded into a formulation with several other plants, and the liquid after cooking is taken as a drink for cough[]

The stems, leaves and inflorescences are crushed with salt and the expressed liquid is administered as an eye-instillation[].

A root-macerate is taken in draught to treat hiccups, especially when they are refractory[]. A root-decoction is used to treat blennorrhoea, irregular menses or too abundant menstruation, and also for haematuria[].
The dried, powdered roots are applied topically over epidermal scarifications to treat headache and leprous sores[].

Other Uses

The sharp-edged leaves are used as 'razors'[].

The nut-like seeds are used as beads[].

Propagation

Seed -

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