Perichasma laetificata

Miers

MenispermaceaeRoots

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Olivier Lachenaud & West and Central Africa Program.

What to Eat

Edible parts: Roots

The roots are eaten.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in rainforest and in clearings from sea level to 900 m altitude. It suits humid locations.

Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, East Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, West Africa,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A woody creeper. The stems can be 5 m long. They are slender and have ribs along them. They have stiff brown hairs. There is a tuberous rhizome or underground stem. The leaves are alternate and simple. The leaf stalk joins the leaf blade away from the edge. The leaf blade is oval and 13-22 cm long by 13-16 cm wide. The edges are wavy. The flowers are in a branched group up to 20 cm long. The flowers have the sexes separate. The fruit is round, yellow and fleshy. It is 8-12 mm long by 7-9 mm wide. It has 2 ridges and one seed. The seed is 6-9 mm long.

How to Grow

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Medicinal Uses

A maceration of the leaves is drunk to treat snakebites. Water with local salt, in which the leaves have been crushed, is given to babies as a remedy for constipation. The leaf sap is applied to scarifications made in the forehead to cure very severe migraine.

Other Uses

The rope-like stems are used as a tying material. A piece of stem is tied round the ankle to prevent snakebites. Stems are made into girdles and bracelets for the ankles and wrists of infants in order to assist them in walking.

Names & Synonyms

Kazilingizimue

Stephania laetificata (Miers) Benth.

References (3)

Lautenschläger, T., et al, 2018, First large-scale ethnobotanical survey in the province of Uíge, northern Angola. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:51
Oyen, L.P.A., 2008. Perichasma laetificata Miers. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 21 October 200919 October 2009.
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew