Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
GRIFFONIA SIMPLICIFOLIA
Botanical Name —
Griffonia simplicifolia
( DC.) Ba il l
Synonyms —
Bandeiraea simplicifolia
(DC.) Benth.,
Schotia simplicifolia
M. Vahl ex DC.
Family —
Leguminosae
Common Names —
Griffonia
African Names —
West Africa: atooto, gbobgotri, kajya, kanya, kwakuo-aboto
Description —
Griffonia simplicifolia
is a woody climbing shrub native to West and Central
Africa. It grows to about 3 m and bears greenish flowers followed by black pods. Leaves alternate
and are simple, glabrous; stipules are triangular, 1 mm long, soon falling; the petiole is up to 1.5 cm
long; the blade is ovate, 6-12 × 3-6 cm, with the base rounded to cordate, apex rounded to short-
acuminate, 3(-5) veined from the base, with reticulate veins prominent on both sides. Inflorescence
is an axillary, pyramidal raceme 5-20 cm long; bracts and bracteoles are triangular, very small,
and persistent. Flowers are bisexual, almost regular, and 5-merous; the pedicel is 3-4 mm long;
the receptacle is urn shaped, 1-1.5 cm long, and pale green; the calyx tube is 12-15 mm long,
orange, with triangular lobes and up to 2 mm long; petals are almost equal, elliptical, 10-12 mm
long, fleshy, greenish, and sparsely short-hairy on the margin; stamens
6
have filaments filiform, up
to 2 cm long; the ovary is superior, about 4 mm long, stiped, with a style 1-2 mm long, persistent,
stigma small. Fruit is an oblique-cylindrical pod about 8 × 4 cm, the stipe is 1-1.5 cm long, inflated,
leathery, and 1-4 seeded.
1140
Habitat and Distribution —
Griffonia simplicifolia
is native to West Africa and parts of
Central Africa. It grows in grass savanna, in coastal plains on termite mounds, in scrub thickets, in
secondary and disturbed forest, and along the margins of primary forest and old farms.
Ethnomedicinal Use —
The peeled stems and roots are used as chewing sticks and in Ghana
also beaten into fibers to yield chewing sponges, a popular means of tooth cleaning. The leaf extract
is used for kidney diseases and migraine and as an aphrodisiac. It is also used as eyedrops to cure
inflamed eyes. Aerial parts have been used for wound dressing, as an enema for erectile dysfunc-
tion, for vomiting, and for mental disorders. The pulp is used in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria
