Gaertnera paniculata

Benth.

RubiaceaeLeavesRoots

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Roots, Leaves, Vegetable

The young tender shoots and roots are eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in moist deciduous forests in West Africa. It grows between 1,200-1,450 m altitude.

Africa, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, East Africa, Gabon, Guinea, Guinée, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Zambia,

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 straggling shrub or small tree. It grows 8-18 m high. It has branches low down. The stems are slightly hairy when young. The leaves are 8-18 cm long by 3-8 cm wide. They are narrowly oval and taper to the tip. They are thinly leathery. The flowers are greenish white. They are in large loose groups 7-30 cm long. They have a sweet scent. The fruit is juicy and purple or blue coloured. They are 9 mm long by 6 mm wide.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed. Seed need to be sown while fresh.

Medicinal Uses

Roots and leaves are used as a vegetable.

Notes

There are about 30-70 Gaertnera species.

Names & Synonyms

Gboli-wulo, Kimbodia, Kimbodi, Kurumbe, Ng obai

Gaertnera eketensis WernhamGaertnera occidentalis Baill.

References (8)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew.
Chapman, J. D. & Chapman, H. M., 2001, The Forest Flora of Taraba and Andamawa States, Nigeria. WWF & University of Canterbury. p 197
Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 562
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 79
Latham, P., 2004, Useful Plants of Bas-Congo province. Salvation Army & DFID p 133
Schatz, G.E., 2001, Generic Tree Flora of Madagascar. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden. p 330 (Genus)
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew