Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
NEOSTENANTHERA MYRISTIFOLIA
Botanical Name —
Neostenanthera myristifolia
(Oliv.) Excell
Synonym —
Stenanthera myristifolia
Engl. et Diels.
Family —
Annonaceae
African Name —
Bini (Edo): uyenghen eze
Description —
Neostenanthera myristifolia
is a shrub or small tree about 10 m high. The stem
is slender, the bark is grayish-brown, and the slash is whitish. Sometimes, it is stilt rooted. The twigs
and young leaves are usually covered with small hairs but become smooth with age. The leaves are
simple, oblong-elliptic, 10-30 cm long and 5-10 cm broad, with a short apex that tapers to a tip.
There are about 12 pairs of lateral nerves. The flowers are greenish at first, turn yellow later, and are
borne on slender, short, and hairy stalks. It produces egg-shaped fruits, which appear from May to
July;
13,81
they are about 1.3 cm long and attached to stalks through individual shorter stalks.
Habitat and Distribution —
This is a forest tree and occurs in Liberia, Ghana, Gabon, and
probably Nigeria and Cameroon.
Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The dried and pulverized leaves are used like snuff for treating tumors
of the nose. A related species,
N. hamata,
is used as a vermifuge in Liberia.
OCIMUM
Many members of the genus
Ocimum
are used for the preparation of remedies in African tra-
ditional medicine. The most important ones include
O
.
basilicum, O
.
gratissimum, O
.
canum,
and
O.
suave.
All four species are used as a febrifuge, and some are used as food flavors. They all yield
volatile oils, but the oils differ significantly in their chemical compositions.
OCIMUM BASILICUM
Botanical name
Ocimum basilicum
Linn.
Synonyms —
O. viride
Willd.,
O. guineense
Schum. et Thonn.
Family —
Lamiaceae.
Common Names —
Fever plant, fever leaf, fever plant of Sierra Leone, tea bush
African Names —
Ashanti: nunum, onunum; Bini: ihiri eziza, aramogho; Ewe: debeshui, beb-
losi; Hausa: dai doya ta gida; Igbo: nchu-anwu; Efik: ntion; Malinke: su-guen-fira; Mandingo: sise-
jambo; Mende: kumoi, kumwi; Timme: e-b' onto, o-gbonto; Yoruba: efinrin
