Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The second most distinguished home garden agroforest tree species identified
is
Elaeis guinensis
(oil-palm). When fully developed and its fruits harvested,
E. guinensis
produces quality red oil for cooking. The stem sap is also tapped as
a local beverage and often fermented and distilled into alcohol, a local gin popu-
larly called
akpeteshie
. The leaf petiole and young fronds of
E. guinensis
are used
for producing baskets and brooms.
Apart from provision of food, most other herbaceous and grass species have
medicinal value. Classical examples encountered are non-woody herbs (not
including grasses) in home gardens of PLEC farmers at Bewase and Otwitiri in
Gyamfiase-Adenya, a second PLEC demonstration site in southern Ghana. In
those localities the following species and their medicinal uses were identified:
•
Palisota hirsute
, whose leaves are used as purgative to remedy constipation in
babies whilst the roots are used for treating bone fractures in both children and
adults
•
Datura metel
, which is used as medicine for poultry
•
Chassalia
sp., whose roots are used for treating epilepsy
•
Canna indica
, used to control post-partum bleeding
•
Cyathula prostrata
, for treating stomach ache
•
Strophanthus hispidus
, whose marsh roots are used as an ear irritant to torture
a criminal
•
Leea
sp. and
Scropar
ia sp., whose root bark is used for treating boils
•
Thonningia sanguina
, a plant-root parasite, whose stem is used as enema
•
Hilaria latifolia
, whose leaves are customarily used in fetish baths.
These observations on medicinal plants are significant because the use of
herbal remedies is increasing amongst both educated and non-formally educated
people in urban as well as rural areas, despite the availability of modern medici-
nal facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and health centres. An estimated 75 per
cent of the country's population use herbal remedies, many of them based on
home garden plants (UNDP, 1999).
Furthermore, there have been several recent expeditions in search of plant
species with potential medicinal properties for treating currently incurable
diseases, for example cancers and HIV/AIDS, or for use as templates or analogues
to develop novel drugs that may be efficacious for these diseases. Home gardens
are an important habitat for these potential medicinal plants. It is in recognition
of this that the GEF Small Grants window provides support for the establishment
of biodiverse medicinal plant gardens in the country.
Summary and conclusion
On the basis of the PLEC studies, the principal plant species (including tree and
pseudo-tree crops) kept in home gardens are the
Musa
spp. (plantains and bananas),
Citrus
sp. (orange),
Carica papaya
(pawpaw), and
Elaeis guinensis
(oil-palm).
