Common Name:

General Information

Tragia benthamii is usually a straggling or climbing plant, or rarely an erect shrub; it has more or less woody stems that can be 1 - 4.5 metres long. The plant is covered with stinging hairs[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.

Known Hazards

The plant is covered with stinging hairs. The sting can be very painful, and the pain is said to last about ten minutes[].
The plant enters into criminal use in Cote D'Ivoire, being used in a mixture of crushed glass and other drug-plants known as gou-ga[].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Cote D'Ivoire to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Floodplain thickets and termitaria in floodplain grassland, also on rocky outcrops and pan margins in mopane woodland; at elevations from sea level to around 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Climber
Height	2.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A root decoction is taken as a purgative, especially for babies and small children. The roots are given to women with labour pain[]. Root extracts are taken as an abortifacient, to ease child delivery and as a cure for gonorrhoea[].

A decoction of roots and leaves is drunk to promote conception[].
Leaves, roots and twigs are used to treat poliomyelitis[].

A leaf extract is drunk to cure gonorrhoea, to kill internal parasites including tapeworm and to treat stomach-ache, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis[]. The ash of burnt leaves is inhaled to cure elephantiasis[].
Pain caused by rheumatism is treated by rubbing the leaves on the painful joints[]. A leaf-mash is used in Ghana on sores on the arms, which have resulted in swollen armpit glands, causing a reduction of the swelling[]. The plant is used to wash wounds[].

The plant stimulates uterine contractions and is used both as an abortifacient and also to assist in child-delivery. The property of hastening parturition has been shown under medical supervision, but without skilled attention its use can be dangerous since it can cause too vigorous a response and damage to the uterus[]. The plant is also used in enemas for the treatment of blennorrhoea[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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