Ethnobotanical knowledge of the lay people of Blouberg area ......Several ethnobotanical studies have been taken world-wide, documenting different plant species and preserving the

RESEARCH Open Access

Ethnobotanical knowledge of the laypeople of Blouberg area (Pedi tribe),Limpopo Province, South AfricaNkoana Ishmael Mongalo1* and Tshepiso Jan Makhafola2

Abstract

Background: Limpopo province, South Africa, has a rich plant diversity and is referred to as one of the hotspotsareas within the country. The aim of the current work was to identify and document medicinal plant species usedby the indigenous Pedi people of Blouberg area, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Methods: A total of 40 informants which includes both traditional healers and medicinal plant sellers were randomlyselected and asked about the plant species used in treatment of variety of infections using a structured questionnaire.Follow-up visits and various field walks were also used to identify and document various plant species used in Traditionalmedicine (TM). The interviews were carried out from April 2008 to June 2016 using indigenous language (Sehananwa).

Results: A total of 82 medicinal plants species belonging to 42 families have been collected, identified and documented.About 46.34% of the plant species were herbs, followed by trees (25.61%), shrubs (20.73%) and climbers (7.32%). The mostused plant parts are roots and rhizomes (58.58%). Peltophorum africanum Sond revealed frequency index of greater than70 and is used in combination with other plants species to treat various pathogenic infections. Most of the plant speciesreported are used in the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (24), management of HIV-AIDS (15) and stomachache (14). Our informants indicated that the use of plant medicines in combinations is also applied to cure pathogenicinfections.

Conclusion: The current study demonstrate that the indigenous people of Blouberg area, Limpopo Province harbours animportant information about the vegetation around them. The plant species are used in the treatment of variouspathogenic infections, offers fruits as additional source of food and form integral part of other medicinal productsthat may in turn produce income.

Keywords: Blouberg area, Limpopo Province, Ethno-medicine, Ethnobotanical urvey, Medicinal plants, South Africa

BackgroundLimpopo Province is mostly dominated by the Pedi(57%), Tsonga (23%) and Venda (12%), ethnic groupswhile English and Afrikaans speaker only constitutes lessthan 4% combined [1]. However, there are other unoffi-cial languages which includes Khelobedu, Setlokwa andSehananwa falling under the Sotho or Pedi speakingpeople. Blouberg area, dominated by Pedi tribe, com-prise of only two main health care facilities (Bloubergand Helena-Franz Hospital), a small remote town known

as Senwabarwana and a few game reserves (Bloubergand Maleboho nature reserves). The population in thisarea, like in other rural African communities is relianton traditional medicine (TM) as their basic source ofhealth care [2, 3]. The other possible challenges in healthcare facilities within the study site may include long dis-tances travelled to hospitals, long waiting on the queues,drug shortages, lack of proper laboratories with state ofthe art scientific equipment and attitudes of the healthworkers [4]. The area is one of the medicinal plants hot-spots with only little plant species documented in thefew surveys taken recently within the Province [5–9],but not strictly focussing on Blouberg area.* Correspondence: [email protected]

1College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES) Laboratories,University of South Africa, Private BagX06, Johannesburg 0710, South AfricaFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

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Mongalo and Makhafola Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:46 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-018-0245-4

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Several ethnobotanical studies have been taken world-wide,documenting different plant species and preserving theindigenous knowledge of various communities [10–15].Most of these surveys may well serve as possible leadsfor the discovery of potent new drugs that may be usedto combat most harmful infections that pose a seriousthreat to human and animal health. Traditional people be-lieve in using TM or herbal therapy in treating various in-fections, mostly because plant species are abundant innature in their surrounding environment, less priced andare believed to pose less or no side effects. Moreover, it isbelieved that herbal therapy is holistic, integrating theemotional, spiritual and mental well-being of the patients[16]. Furthermore, TM is culturally acceptable and there isa belief that it purges out any infection after treatmentfrom hospitals [17]. Besides being the main source ofdrugs in the current threatened health care system withemerging multiple resistant organisms, the traditionalmedicine still receives little attention world-wide [18].The enormous rise in HIV-AIDS infections in Africa

pose a further threat to human life, resulting in varietyof opportunistic infections which may include variousskin infections inflammatory disorders, various forms ofcandidiasis, reactivation of the TB germ and other pos-sible pulmonary infections, multiple forms of lymphomaand various Herpes infections [19–21]. The aim of thecurrent work is to identify and document various plantspecies used by the lay people of Blouberg (Hananwa).

MethodsStudy areaSouth Africa (Fig. 1) is divided into nine Provinces.Blouberg area, indigenously known as Hananwa, is situ-ated in the Limpopo Province, 30 km north of Dendronand 95 km from Polokwane, and connects South Africato both Botswana and Zimbabwe. Geographically, it is adeep rural area, mountainous and located between theWaterberg Wetlands and the Dongola Trans-frontierand extends right up to the Botswana border [22].The area is under kingship of the Leboho family and

occupies an area of approximately 5054 km2 and a totalpopulation of about 166,243 people [23]. Big rivers suchas Bohlokwe, Tswatšane, Mmatšope and other small riv-ers provide water to various livestock in the area. Moga-lakwena River, with its rich biota which includescrocodiles, also cuts into the area. Various sites on themountain Blouberg- a green mountain throughout theyear, serves different purposes. Ploughing fields, burialsite for the kings of the past and hunting grounds areamongst the most important sites in the mountain.

Selection of informants and interviewsA total of 40 informants which includes 20 traditionalhealers and 20 medicinal plants sellers from Blouberg area

have been randomly sampled from a pool of informants at-tending meeting relating to African Dingaka Association ofSouth Africa at Blouberg area from April 2008 to June2016 using structured questionnaires, follow-up visits andfield trips. Various visits were made to establish a rapportand more often assisting in plant collection for use in theAfrican surgeries (consulting rooms). Informants weremostly from villages such as Lethaleng, Ga-Mochemi,Ditatšu, Ga-Rammutla A, Pickum B, Ga-Mashalane,Ga-Mmamolele, Ga-Broekmane, Dilaeneng, Ga-Machaba,Ga-Kibi, Ga-Mmaleboho, Ga-Radimang, Ga-Manaka, Sew-ale, Bosehla, Mohlabeng-wa-Malokela, Gwarung, Ga-Kobe,Sebotlane, Ga-Kibi, Devrede, Makgabeng, Marobjane,Inveraan and Bull-bull. The informants agreed to furnishinformation regarding the indigenous medicinal plant spe-cies used in the treatment of various infections treated byboth healers and plant sellers using questionnaires, whilenoting the plant species named using Sehananwa as a locallanguage. At a later date, informants were requested toidentify the plant species at various collection sites.Follow-up visits were later conducted with the intention

of verifying the information given by informants, particu-larly the correspondence of indigenous names, and thenlater request further information on whether the plantspecies mentioned are used as a single plant material or incombination with other plant species. Only plant speciesmentioned by the informants at least three times were eli-gible for documentation [24]. Data on combinations ofplants in the treatment of infections was documented, in-cluding mode of preparation and route of administration.

Collection and identification of medicinal plantsThe plant species were collected, pressed and identified bybotanists in the Department of Life and Consumer Sci-ences, Horticulture and College of Agriculture and Envir-onmental Science (CAES) laboratories. The unknown plantmaterials to the authors and staff in the College of Agricul-ture and Environmental Sciences were send to National Bo-tanical Institute (NBI) in Pretoria for identification (Thepersonnel who assisted in identification includes Klopper,R.R., Mothogoane, M.S., Makgakga, M.C., Makwarela, L.E.,Archer, R.H., Nkonki, T., Ready, J.A., Bester, S.P., Meyer, J.J.,Ruiters, A.K. and Welamn, N). The voucher specimen of allthe collected plant species were then lodged at Universityof South Africa herbarium in Florida. Other plant materialswere also deposited into the NBI herbarium. These includesCissus cornifolia, Neorautanenia mitis, Pollichia campestris,Ipomoea albivenia, Pterodiscus kellerianus, Ehretia rigidaand Aptosimum lineare.

Data analysisThe analysis of data was carried out using both descrip-tive and inferential statistics using percentages and fre-quencies. The frequency index (FI), informant consensus

Mongalo and Makhafola Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2018) 14:46 Page 2 of 23

factor (Fic) and Fidelity levels (FL) were calculated andcompared. FI of the documented plant species were cal-culated using the formula:

FI ¼ FC=N � 100;

Where FI is the frequency of citation for one plantspecies by informants, FC is the number of informantswho cited the use of the plant species and N is the totalnumber of informants [25, 26]. Fic was calculated to de-termine the homogeneity of the information provided bythe informants using the formula:

FIC ¼ Nur‐Ntaxa=Nur‐1

Where Nur is the number of use reports, Ntaxa is thenumber of species in each use category [27], while FLwas calculated using the formula:

FL ¼ Ip=IuX 100

Where Ip is the number of informants who suggestedthe use of the species for the same major ailment and Iurepresents the total number of informants who men-tioned the species for any use [28].

ResultsSocio-demographic information and diversity of plantsspeciesThe communities around Blouberg area use diverse florain treatment of various ailments and local people possessa rich traditional knowledge on the use of medicinalplants as medicine. The age of our informants rangedfrom 30 to 88 years (Table 1). About 64% of our infor-mants are aged between 40 and 65 years of age while10% of our informants are below the age of 40 years.About 40% of our informants have never been to schooland only one of the 40 participants possess a diploma inEducation and is also a well-known traditional healer. Atotal of 82 plant species belonging to 42 different familieswere recorded in the current study (Table 2). Families suchas Fabaceae (14.63%), Malvaceae (8.54%), Apocynaceae(7.32%), Solanaceae (6.10%), Convolvulaceae (4.88%), Eu-phorbiaceae (3.66%) and Vitaceae (3.66%) were well repre-sented (Table 3) and are dominant, while families such asRubiaceae, Olacaceae, Loganiaceae, Ebenaceae, Celastra-ceae, Asphodelaceae and Anacardiaceae reported 2.44%each. The other families recorded one plant species each.

Growth forms, plant parts used and mode ofadministration of plant speciesThe reported plant species were dominated by herbs(46.34%), followed by trees (25.61%), shrubs (20.73) andclimbers (7.32%) (Fig. 2). Out of the reported plant

Fig. 1 Map of South Africa, locating Blouberg area (red coloured area)


species, roots and bulbs (underground plant material)were the most used (58.6%), followed by stem bark(13.1%), whole plant (12.1%) and leaves (11.1%) (Fig. 3).Most of the plants materials are boiled and taken orally

(73%) when treating various types of infections (Fig. 4).The other plant species may be topically applied (10.89%)to the skin, while the others may be burned (5.94%) orused to wash and rinse (5.94%) the infected body part.The inhalation, nasal administration, and plant materialswhich may be blown reported less than 5% each.

Ailments treated and consensus agreementThe most reported plant species are used in the treat-ment of sexually transmitted infections (24) followed bythose used in the management of HIV-AIDS related in-fections (15), stomach ache (14) and plant species usedin the treatment of ethno-veterinary infections (9) whilethe informant consensus factors (Fic) of the mentionedailment categories ranged from 0.78 to 1 as shown inTable 4. About 25 species revealed FL value of 100%against variety of diseases (Table 5).

Combination studies and plant species with Frerequencyindex ≥70Eight medicinal plants species such as Elephantorrhizaelephantine, Waltheria indica, Securidaca longipeduncu-lata, Blepharis diversispina, Peltophorum africanum,Cissus quadrangularis, Sclerocarrya birrea and Elephan-torrhiza burkei reported FI value ≥70 hence have somepharmacological activities reported from literature(Table 6). About 12 combinations of medicinal plantsspecies have been recorded in the current study(Table 7). Waltheria indica appeared in six of the 12combinations, accounting to 50% and is used in thetreatment of stomach ache, sexually transmitted infec-tions, infertility, diarrhoea and strengthening of immun-ity in new born babies.

DiscussionsDemographic information and diversity of use of plantspeciesTraditional knowledge is mainly transferred from onegeneration to the next through mouth and such informa-tion may evacuate and disappear for good with time or be-comes limited as life evolves [29, 30]. The demographic

information of selected informant’s data shows that males(55%) dominates in the traditional knowledge comparedto 45% of females. Contrarily, other authors reported thefemales to dominate in the traditional knowledge [31, 32].The families such as Fabaceae and Malvaceae are dom-

inant in the current study, reporting 14.63 and 8.54% re-spectively. The dominance of the Fabaceae has also beenreported several times in ethnobotanical surveys at differ-ent localities [33] world-wide. The use of the branches,sap and seeds were all reported to be much lesser. In thecurrent study, the use of the underground plant part con-tributes (58.6%), while stem bark reported 13.1%. The useof underground, stem bark and whole plant (especiallyherbs which are uprooted) is of major concern as it is ex-tremely detrimental to the health of the plant species andmay lead to plant species extinction.

The informant consensus agreementThe technique is designed to highlight medicinal plantspecies that have a healing potential for a specific majorillness. The plant species in major disease category, withFIC values of 1 or very close to 1 indicate a high rate ofinformant consensus on plant species used against themajor specific illness [28]. In the current work, the plantspecies used in the treatment of joints, fractured bones,anti-poison, aphrodisiac, chest complaints, tonsillitis,asthma, vaal-sick and toothache reported FIC values of 1.A similar trend has been observed elsewhere in othercountries [34, 35]. However, it should be noted that thenumber of species in the above mentioned ailmentcategories is also equivalent to1.

Fidelity levels (FL) of the preferred medicinal plantspeciesFidelity level is designed to reveal the percentage of in-formants claiming the use of a certain plant for the samepurpose [36]. FL values of documented plant species arereported in Table 5.In the current study, about 25 species revealed FL

value of 100% against variety of diseases, suggesting thatthe informant’s state of knowledge is common when itcomes to the uses of such plant species. AlthoughMimusops zeyheri and Raphionacme hirsuta revealed FLvalue of 100%, there is no data in the literature support-ing the pharmacological effect of such species against

Table 1 Demographic of informants

Informants category Males Females Age groups Level of Education

30–40 41–50 51–65 Above 65 Never beento school

ABETEducation

PrimaryEducation

SecondaryEducation

TertiaryEducation

Traditional healers 8 12 – 1 9 10 6 4 3 6 1

Plant sellers 14 6 4 12 4 – 10 0 2 8 0

Percentage 55 45 10 32.5 32.5 25 40 10 12.5 35 2.5


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Acanthaceae

MNI-18

Blepha

risdiversisp

ina

(Nees)C.B.Clarke.

Herb

Roots

Moo

kapitsi

Rootsareused

totreatthe

deceased

’swife

andsexually

transm

itted

infections.

73Nasal

Amaryllidaceae

MNI-81

Ammocha

riscoranica

(Ker

Gaw

l.)Herb.

Herb

Bulb

Mmotuwafase

Bulb

isused

inthetreatm

ent

offoot

ache

.23

Freshpieces

ofbu

lbis

cooked

andresulting

solutio

nisapplieddirectlyto

affected

area.

Anacardiaceae

MNI-82

Man

gifera

indica

L.Tree

Stem

bark

Mo-Mango

Stem

bark

isused

totreathe

artinfections

anddiarrhoe

a

33Oral

Fruits

Thefru

itsareed

ible

MNI-17

Sclerocaryabirrea

(A.Rich.)Hochst.

Tree

Stem

bark

Morula

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections,a

gene

ralimmun

ebo

osterforHIV-AIDSpatients

andas

bloo

dpu

rifier.Stem

bark

isalso

used

totreat

ethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

75Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ibleandmay

beused

toprep

areho

me-made

beer.

Apiaceae

MNI-20

Peucedan

umsulcatum

Sond

.Herb

Roots

Mon

gamo

Rootsareused

asge

neral

med

icine

28Oral.

Apo

cynaceae

MNI-30

Carissa

edulis(Forssk.)

Vahl.

Shrub

Roots

Motho

kolo

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

33Oral

Leaves

Sapfro

mtheleaves

isused

totreatsoresandwou

nds

from

thebo

dy.

Sapandchop

pedfre

shleaves

areim

mersedin

hot

water

overnigh

tandthen

used

towashwou

nds

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

MNI-41

Catharan

thus

roseus

(L.)G.Don

Herb

Roots

Lepo

lomo

Rootsareused

totreat

skin

relatedinfections

and“dropsy”

asexually

transm

issibledisease.

30Oraland

topically

applied

toaffected

area.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

MNI-39

Nerium

oleand

erL.

Shrub

Leaves

Five-roses

Leaves

areused

totreat

toothache

.10

Freshleaves

arechop

ped,

immersedin

water

overnigh

tandused

torin

sethemou

th.

Roots

Rootsareused

totreat

diarrhoe

a.Oral

MNI-49

Sarcostemmaacidum

(Roxb.)Vo

igt

Clim

ber

Who

leplant

Moraro

Who

leplantused

formagical

purposes.

58Blow

n

MNI-50

Sarcostemmatorreyi

(A.G

rey)Woo

dson

Clim

ber

Who

leplant

Moraroana

Who

leplantused

formagical

purposes.

30Blow

n

MNI-33

Raph

iona

cmehirsuta

(E.Mey.)R.A.Dyer

Herb

Bulb

Tshe

ngwa

Bulb

used

totreatsexually

transm

itted

infections

and

may

becarved

into

awhe

elthat

canbe

used

bybo

yswhe

nplaying.

53Oral

Asparagaceae

MNI-48

Asparagusracemosus

Willd.

Herb

Roots

Mop

hatlalatamaru

Rootsareused

asfood

for

new-borns

8Oral,mostly

usingabo

ttle

formilk.

Who

leplant

Who

leplantisused

for

magicalpu

rposes

Burned

Aspho

delaceae

MNI-54

Aloe

zebrinaBaker

Herb

Roots

Tsikele

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

35Oral

Who

leplant

Who

leplantisused

for

magicalpu

rposes.Itis

believedto

dispelwitche

swhe

ngrow

nin

aho

me,bo

thside

sof

thegate.

–

MNI-79

Aloe

marlothii

A.Berge

r.Shrub

Leaves

Seem

aka

Maoto

Liqu

idstrained

from

the

leaves

isused

totreatskin

infections

includ

ingsores

andwou

nds.Leaves

arealso

used

totreatethn

oveterinary

infections.

15Topically

appliedto

affected

areas.

Asteraceae

MNI-52

Geigeria

aspera

Harv.

Herb

Who

leplant

Makgo

natsoh

leWho

leplantisused

tocure

vario

usstom

achrelated

illne

sses.

45Oral

Boraginaceae

MNI-44

Ehretia

rigida(Thu

mb)

Druce

subs.N

ervifolia

Retief&

A.E.Van

Wyk

Shrub

Roots

Motho

bethob

eRo

otsareused

totreatne

wbo

rninfections.

18Oralu

sing

abo

ttleformilk.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible.

Cactaceae

MNI-51

Opuntiaficus-indica

(L.)Mill.

Shrub

Roots

Motloro

Rootsareused

totreat

shingles

arisingfro

mHIV-AIDS

23Ro

otsarecooked

and

resulting

liquidisused

towashthesores

Fruits

Thefru

itsareed

ible

Cannabaceae

MNI-78

Cann

abissativaL.

Herb

Who

leplant

Motsokomog

olo

(Patše)

who

leplantisused

totreat“Vaalsick”

and

excessivehe

adache

.

28Inhalatio

n

Caricaceae

MNI-83

Caricapapaya

L.Tree

Roots

Mop

hoop

hoo

Therootsareused

totreatsexuallytransm

itted

infections

25Oral

Fruits

Thefru

itsareed

ible

Caryoph

yllaceae

MNI-40

Pollichiacampestris

Aito

nHerb

Roots

Tshimanen

yana

Rootsareused

totreatHIV/

AIDSrelatedinfections.

15Oral

Celastraceae

MNI-58

Elaeodendron

tran

vaalense

(Burtt

Davy)R.H.Arche

r

Tree

Stem

bark

Mon

amane

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections.

15Oral

MNI-85

Gym

nosporia

senegalensis(Lam

.)Loes.

Herb

Leaves

Mph

ato

Leaves

areused

totreat

stom

achache

sand

vomiting

.

38Oral

Root

bark

Root

bark

isused

inthe

managem

entof

HIV-AIDS.

Oral

Com

bretaceae

MNI-77

Term

inalia

sericea

Burch.ex

DC.

Tree

Roots

Mon

akanakane

Rootsareused

tostreng

then

thefontanelleandge

neral

immun

ityof

thene

wbo

rnbabies.

58Oral,mostly

usinga

bottleformilk.

Stem

bark

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

skin

relatedinfections,

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

andop

portun

istic

infections

associated

with

HIV-AIDS.

Oral


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Con

volvulaceae

MNI-57

Ipom

oeaalba

L.Clim

ber

Stem

bark

Mmolob

olo

Gen

eralmed

icine

28Oral

MNI-27

Ipom

oeabolusia

naSchinz

Herb

Bulb

Mokutu

Bulb

isused

totreatfoot

ache

andsexuallytransm

itted

infections

30Oral,Bo

iledin

water

and

then

appliedwith

asoft

clothto

affected

leg

with

outwou

nds.

MNI-84

Ipom

oeaspp

Herb

Bulb

Tlola

Gen

eralmed

icine,eatenby

boys

whileshep

herdingthe

cows,food

forrabb

itsand

med

icineforwild

anim

als.

10Oral

MNI-34

Ipom

oeaalbivenia

Sweet

Clim

ber

Bulb

Leshilahlole

Bulb

isused

totreat

infertility

inwom

en.

15Oral

Cucurbitaceae

MNI-36

Cucumishirsutus

Sond

.Herb

Roots

Mokapane

Rootsareused

totreat

deceased

’swife.

65Nasal

Leaves

Leaves

areused

toen

hance

fertility

inwom

en.

Oral

Eben

aceae

MNI-99

Euclea

natalensisA.DC.

Shrub

Roots

Mokgo

kgon

oRo

otsareused

formagical

purposes.

10Bu

rned

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

MNI-76

Euclea

undulata

Thun

b.Tree

Stem

bark

Mokwerekwere

Stem

bark

isused

isused

totreatdiarrhoe

a50

Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

Euph

orbiaceae

MNI-59

Jatropha

erythropoda

Pax&K.Hoffm

.Herb

bulb

Thotam

adi

Bulb

used

asbloo

dpu

rifier

25Oral

MNI-29

Jatropha

zeyheriSon

d.Herb

Roots

Sefapabadia

Root

isused

inthe

treatm

entof

eyeinfections,

gynaecolog

icalcomplaints

andsexuallytransm

itted

infections.Roo

tsarealso

used

totreatethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

65Oral,Ro

otsareim

mersed

inwater

andused

towash

infected

eyes

daily

MNI-45

Tragiadioica

Sond

.Herb

Who

leplant

Mmabetjane

Who

leplantisused

tocure

soresin

thestom

ach.

20Oral

Fabaceae

MNI-60

Acaciakarroo

Hayne

Tree

Roots

Moo

kaRo

otsareused

totreat

diarrhoe

a.15

Oral.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

MNI-94

Bauh

iniagalpinii

N.E.Br.

Shrub

Roots

Moh

ohom

aRo

otsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

10Oral

MNI-26

Cassiaabbreviata

Oliv.

Shrub

Roots

Mon

epen

epe

Rootsandstem

bark

areused

inthetreatm

entof

sexually

transm

itted

infections.Roo

tsarealso

used

totreatmellitus

diabetes.

45Oral

Stem

bark

Stem

bark

may

beused

asan

aphrod

isiacformen

,anti-

poison

andused

asage

neral

immun

ebo

osterforHIV-AIDS

patients.Stem

barksareused

indo

ctoringof

homesteads

before

therainyseason

,preven

tingtheho

mesteads

from

lightning

.

Oral

Leaves

Leaves

arealso

used

totreat

ethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

Oral

MNI-75

Dichrostachys

cinerea

(L.)Wight

&Arn.

Tree

Leaves

Moretshe

Leaves

areused

totreat

vomiting

,whilethorns

are

used

formagicalpu

rposes.

18Oral

MNI-18

Elepha

ntorrhiza

elepha

ntina(Burch.)

Skeels

Herb

Roots

Moh

auwane

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections,b

lood

purifier,

eyeinfections

andas

age

neralm

edicine.Ro

ots

arealso

used

totreat

ethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

85Oral,Rinsingisappliedto

eyes

afterbe

inginfusedin

water

overnigh

t.

MNI-21

Elepha

ntorrhizaburkei

Benth.

Herb

Roots

Moh

auwane

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections,b

lood

purifier,

eyeinfections

andas

age

neralm

edicine.Ro

ots

arealso

used

totreat

ethn

o-veterin

ary

infections

incattle.

90Oral

MNI-74

Erythrinalysistemon

Hutch.

Tree

seed

sMo-Kh

upe

Magicalpu

rposes.

20–

MNI-85

Kirkia

acum

inataOliv.

Tree

Sapfro

mstem

bark

Mod

umela

Sapisused

totreata

fractured

bone

andis

believedto

accelerate

healing.

Sapalso

used

forge

neralw

ell-b

eing

.

10Stem

iscutandresulting

protruding

sapiscollected

dried,

grou

ndandapplied

tofractured

bone

.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

MNI-10

Peltoph

orum

african

umSond

.Tree

Leaves

Moseh

laLeaves

areused

totreat

ethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

78Oral

Roots/

stem

bark

Rootsandstem

bark

areused

totreatsexuallytransm

itted

infections,stomachandskin

relatedinfections

Oral

MNI-80

Scho

tiabrachypetala

Sond

.Tree

Who

leplant

Molop

eWho

leplantareused

totreatdiarrhoe

a15

Oral

MNI-42

Neorautan

eniamitis

(A.Rich)

Verdc

Herb

Bulb

Letlo

pya

Bulb

isused

totreatfoot

ache

30Bo

iledplantmaterialis

topically

appliedto

legs

MNI-17

Urginea

sang

uinea

Schinz

Herb

Bulb

Sekanama

Bulbsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

andas

abloo

dpu

rifier.Bu

lbsarealso

used

totreatethn

o-veterin

ary

infections.

48Oral

Hypoxidaceae

MNI-61

Hypoxis

haem

erocallidea

Fisch.,C

.A.Mey.

&Avé-Lall.

Herb

Bulb

Mon

nawamaled

uBu

lbisused

asan

aphrod

isiacformen

and

used

asage

neralimmun

ebo

osterforHIV-AIDSpatients

50Oral

MNI-42

Neorautan

eniamitis

(A.Rich)

Verdc

Herb

Bulb

Letlo

pya

Bulb

isused

totreatfoot

ache

30Freshpieces

ofbu

lbis

cooked

andresulting

solutio

nisapplieddirectly

toaffected

area

topically.

Loganiaceae

MNI-67

Strychno

sspinosa

Lam.

Tree

Stem

bark

Mokwakwa

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

diarrhoe

aandothe

rrelated

infections

20Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible.

MNI-66

Strychno

smadagascariensis

Poir.

Tree

Roots

Morutla

Rootsareused

totreatfoot

ache

andmou

thulcers

associated

with

HIV-AIDS.

58Groun

drootsarepo

wde

red

andapplieddirectlyon

infected

area

Malvaceae

MNI-73

Adan

soniadigitata

L.Tree

Stem

bark

Motsoo

Stem

bark

isused

totreatop

portun

istic

fung

alinfections,m

ostly

associated

with

HIV-AIDS.

35Oral

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

MNI-16

Azanzagarckean

a(F.Hoffm

.)Exell&

Hillc.

Tree

Stem

bark

Motlobya

5Oral


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

painfuljointsin

aged

individu

als

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

Roots

Rootsareused

totreathe

art

relatedandhigh

bloo

dpressure

inadults.

Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible.

MNI-24

Grewiaflava

DC.

Herb

Roots

Mothe

tlwa

Rootsareused

tocure

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

andexcessive

diarrhoe

a.

53Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ibleandmay

becollected

driedandthen

mixed

with

alittle

mealie

meal,cooked

into

porridge

,which

may

beeatenalon

edu

ringdrou

ghtyears.

MNI-62

GrewiaflavescensJuss.

Herb

Roots

Mop

haratshw

ene

Rootsareused

as“disha”

forthene

wbo

rn.

20Oral,mostly

usingabo

ttle

formilk.

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

MNI-95

Grewiaspp

Shrub

Roots

Mow

ana

Rootsareused

as“disha”

forthene

wbo

rn.

23Oral,mostly

usingabo

ttle

formilk.

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

MNI-25

Waltheriaindica

L.Herb

Roots

Mokhu

tesela

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

andstom

ach

prob

lems.Alsoused

asfood

andstom

achcoolant

forne

wbo

rnbabies.

70Oral

MNI-32

Sida

cordifolia

L.Herb

Who

leplant

Mokadi

Who

leplantus

used

totreathigh

bloo

dpressure

15Oral

Meliaceae

MNI-71

Meliaazeadarach

L.Tree

Leaves

Mosara

Leaves

areused

totreat

infections

associated

with

HIV-AIDSinclud

ingshingles

30Cho

pped

fresh

leaves

are

boiledandthen

liquidused

towashtheaffected

area

Mesem

bryanthe

maceae

MNI-86

Carbobrotusedulis(L.)

N.E.Br.

Herb

Leaves

Tima

Leaves

areused

totreatan

STIkno

wnas

“Tshofela”

and

may

also

beused

totreat

shingles

associated

with

HIV-AIDS.

43Topically

appliedto

affected

area.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Myrtaceae

MNI-72

Psidium

guajavaL.

Shrub

Roots

Mo-Guava

Stom

achache

anddiarrhoe

ain

adults.

58Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

Olacaceae

MNI-87

XimeniacaffraSond

.Tree

Roots

Motshidikgo

mo

Rootsareused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections.

30Oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

MNI-70

Ximeniaam

erican

aL.

Shrub

Roots

Motshidim

phiswane

Rootsareused

inthe

treatm

entof

asthma,

stom

achache

andvario

usmou

thulcersassociated

with

HIV-AIDS.

26Oral,grou

ndfru

itisused

towashtheulcers.

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

Pedaliaceae

MNI-46

Pterodiscus

kellerianu

sSchinz.

Herbs

Roots

Moyane

Fleshy

rootsareused

totreatstom

achache

sin

new-bornbabies

45Oral,mostly

usingabo

ttle

formilk.

Phyllanthaceae

MNI-56

Flueggea

virosa

(Roxb.

exWilld.)R

oyle

Shrub

Branches

Moh

lakaum

eBranches

areused

for

magicalpu

rposes.

10Blow

n

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

Poaceae

MNI-63

Cyno

dondactylon

(L.)

Pers.

herb

Who

leplant

Mothlakatlhaka

Who

leplantmay

beused

tocure

tonsils.

8Grass

isbo

iledin

atin

with

abou

t500mlw

ater

andthen

appliedto

affected

areas.

Polygalaceae

MNI-69

Securidaca

long

ipedun

culata

Fresen

.

Shrub

Root

bark

Mph

esu

Root

bark

isused

asan

aphrod

isiacformen

73Ro

otbarksaregrou

ndinto

powde

rwhich

istakenorally

with

mageu.

Root

kernel

Root

kernelisused

totreatHeadache

Driedkernelsarebu

rned

and

then

inhaled.

Punicaceae

MNI-88

Punica

gran

atum

L.Shrub

Roots

Mokgarenate

Root

areused

tocure

diarrhoe

a,mostly

inHIV-

positivepatientsandothe

rrelatedinfections

8Therootsaredriedand

grou

ndinto

powde

rwhich

mustbe

lickedby

mou

th.


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible

Rham

naceae

MNI-91

Ziziph

usmucrona

taWilld.

Tree

Roots

Mokgalo

Rootsareused

totreat

stom

achinfections.Roo

tsmay

also

beused

tomanage

HIV

andHIDS.

10Oral

Leaves

Leaves

areused

totreat

burnsandtonsils

Leaves

areremoved

andthen

chew

edby

mou

th,app

lied

surrou

ndingtheaffected

area

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

Rubiaceae

MNI-89

Gardeniavolkensii

K.Schu

m.

Shrub

Branches

Morala

Stem

bark

isused

totreat

chestcomplaintsand

tube

rculosisrelated

infections.

10Oral

Stem

bark

Thebranches

arecutinto

pieces

which

willbe

mixed

with

othe

rmed

icines

todo

ctor

homesteads(M

agical).

Burned

MNI-64

Vang

ueria

infausta

Burch.

Tree

Branches

Mmilo

Branches

used

indo

ctoring

ofho

mesteads

23Blow

n

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

Salantaceae

MNI-96

Osyris

lanceolata

Hochst.&Steud.

Shrub

Roots

Mph

ere

Rootsareused

formagical

purposes.

35Bu

rned

Sapo

taceae

MNI-68

Mimusopszeyheri

Sond

.Tree

Roots

Mon

upud

uRo

otsareused

totreat

syph

ilis(sexually

transm

issible

disease),stomachache

and

gynaecolog

icalinfections.

10Oral

Fruit

Fruitised

ible

Scroph

ulariaceae

MNI-47

Aptosim

umlineare

Marloth

&Engl.

Herb

Who

leplant

Pope

loana

Who

leplantisused

totreat

gynaecolog

icalcomplaints

17Oral

Solanaceae

MNI-90

Solanu

maculeastrum

Dun

alHerb

Roots

Morola

Rootsareused

totreat

stom

achache

s.30

Oral

MNI-95

Solanu

mmauritianu

mScop

.Shrub

Roots

Motho

lloRo

otsareused

totreat

stom

achache

s.53

Oral

MNI-100

Herb

Roots

Morolana

30Oral


Table

2Ethn

obotanyof

thePedi

tribeof

Blou

berg

area,Lim

popo

Province,Sou

thAfrica

(Con

tinued)

Family/Vou

cher

numbe

rPlantspecies

Growth

form

Plantpartused

Indige

nous

name(s)

Ethn

o-med

icinaluses

Freq

uencyInde

xMod

eof

administration

Solanu

mpand

uriform

eE.Mey.

Rootsareused

totreat

stom

achache

s.

MNI-93

Solanu

msupinu

mDun

alHerb

Roots

Morola

Rootsareused

totreat

stom

achache

s.15

Oral

MNI-92

Withan

iasomnifera

(L.)Dun

alHerb

Roots

Mosalam

arop

eng

Rootsareused

totreat

infertility

andothe

rgynaecolog

icalrelated

infections.

35Oral

Talinaceae

MNI-35

Talinum

caffrum

(Thu

mb.)Eckl.&

Zeyhr.

Herb

Roots

Peloana

Fleshy

harvestedrootsare

used

totreathe

artrelated

infections.

15Oral

Vitaceae

MNI-22

Cissus

quadrang

ularisL.

Clim

ber

Who

leplant

Moh

labadipo

oWho

leplantisused

totreat

sexuallytransm

itted

infections

andskin

related

infections.Stemsarealso

used

totreatethn

o-veterin

aryinfections

incattle.

73Bo

thoralandTopically

appliedto

affected

area.

MNI-65

Vitis

vinifera

L.Clim

ber

Roots

Motereb

eRo

otsareused

totreathigh

bloo

dpressure

inadults

12oral

Fruits

Fruitsareed

ible.

MNI-31

Cissus

cornifolia

(Baker)Planch.

Herb

Bulb

Mokgo

oBu

lbisused

asage

neral

med

icine

33Oral

Fruits

Fruitareed

ible

Xantho

rhoe

aceae

MNI-43

Bulbinean

gustifolia

Poelln.

Herb

Roots

Marum

oang

ata

Rootsareused

asan

aphrod

isiacandfor

gene

ralw

ell-b

eing

ofmen

30Oral


pathogenic strains belonging to the traditional sphere ofsexually transmitted infections.It should also be noted that three plant species, such as

Bauhinia galpinii, Elephantorrhiza burkei and Cassiaabbreviata, from family Fabaceae appeared as some of thepreferred plant species used against sexually transmittedinfections, eye infections and as anti-poison respectively.Furthermore, Peltophorum africanum, Eephantorrhiza ele-phantine, Elephantorrhiza burkei and revealed frequencyindex (FI) values of 78, 85 and 90 respectively (Table 2).These data suggests that the family Fabaceae is generallyimportant and used in the treatment of various humanand animal infections. Although E. burkei in the currentstudy is preferred to treat eye infections, it was also re-ported in the treatment of diarrhoea within other Bapedi

groups [37]. These difference may well suggest that thetraditional knowledge on use of plant species in the treat-ment of infections may differ from one locality to theother. Although the current work revealed most preferredspecies used in the treatment of various pathogenic infec-tions, the biological activity of such medicinal plants stillneeds to be explored and verified experimentally. Further-more, the plant species with high FL values are of greaterimportance in treating the related human and animal in-fections from the study site.

Plant uses and ailments treatedThe plant species reported in the current study aremostly used for treatment of human and animal infec-tions while others are used for magical purposes. Themost reported plant species are used in the treatment ofsexually transmitted infections (24) followed by thoseused in the management of HIV-AIDS related infections(15), stomach ache (14) and plant species used in the

Table 3 Plant families with the largest (At least 3 speciesreported) number of species

Family name Number of species Percentage

Fabaceae 12 14.63

Malvaceae 7 8.54

Apocynaceae 6 7.32

Solanaceae 5 6.10

Convolvulaceae 4 4.88

Euphorbiaceae 3 3.66

Vitaceae 3 3.66

Rubiaceae 2 2.44

Olacaceae 2 2.44

Loganiaceae 2 2.44

Ebenaceae 2 2.44

Celastraceae 2 2.44

Asphodelaceae 2 2.44

Anacardiaceae 2 2.44

Fig. 2 Growth forms of the reported plant species

Fig. 3 Plant parts used in the study

Fig. 4 Mode of administration of reported medicinal plants


treatment of ethno-veterinary infections (9). These resultsagrees with those of Peltzer et al., [38] who reported sexu-ally transmitted infections to be mostly encountered andtreated by African traditional healers. Amazingly, only asingle plant each is reported to be used to treat pulmonaryinfections, mellitus diabetes and asthma.Out of all the named medicinal plants in our survey,

Gardenia volskensii is the only plant species reported totreat pulmonary related infections including tubercu-losis. However, some of our informants revealed that forsuch purposes, bones from the chest of the Ostrich andnest of a dove “leeba” are chopped together and then ad-ministered to the patient. We found this difficult to val-idate scientifically as the doves may use different plantmaterials to build the nest and the age and gender of theostrich was not identified in any of our informants.

Solanum species are used to treat stomach related ill-nesses. One of our informants revealed that a mixture ofa variety of Solanum species is the perfect solution tovarious stomach disorders and further used a name“Merolanarolana” referring to variety of such specieswhen hiding the prescription form the patients. It shouldbe noted that from the multi-purpose plant species re-ported, 28% species bears fruits and are identified as foodplants as well. According to our informants, the use of thespecies as foodstuffs is not very important as there are nomarkets for such fruits within the study sites. However,the fruits are used as addition to foods within families andalso eaten by boys when shepherding the cows on themountains. The treatment of infections is more importantthan the food value. For the purpose of food, the indigen-ous people are reliant upon the agricultural crops such asmaize, wheat, potatoes and leafy vegetables which aregrown mainly during the summer season.

Magical and ethno-veterinary plants speciesOut of 82 plant species reported in the study, about 12plants are used for magical purposes, while 9 species areused in the treatment of various ethno-veterinary infec-tions. Sarcostema acidium and Cassia abbreviata are themost reported magical plant species with frequencyindex of 58 and 45 respectively (Table 2), while Elephan-torrhiza burkei and Elephathorrhiza elephantina are pre-ferred for ethnoveterinary use with frequency index of90 and 85 respectively. Plant species reported within thiscategory are believed to be used to doctor homesteadsthere by protecting them from lightning, dispel thewitches, returning some illnesses and calling upon someancestral spirits. Cassia abbreviata is used for manyother uses in various communities. However, the Peditribe use the multi-stemmed species mostly in the doc-toring of homesteads. The multi-stems (Fig. 5) are be-lieved to symbolise the number of huts in the familythat might comprise of extended family members and anumber of wives belonging to one husband [39].

Food plantsOut of 82 plant species, 23 plants (28%) bear fruits areidentified as food plants. Strychnos madagascariensis andPsidium guajava reported the highest FI value of 58, eachwhile Azanza garckeana reported the lowest FI value of 5.Our current report corroborate that of Musina andMaroyi [40] who reported species such as Scleorcarryabirrea, Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Punica grana-tum and Vanguera infausta being used as food plantswithin Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. Accordingto our knowledge, Cissus cornifolia was reported the firsttime within the country as a food source. However, itshould be noted that the ethnobotanical survey of boththe domesticated and wild edible fruits as sources of food

Table 4 Consensus agreement about uses of medicinal plantsfor important ailment categories

Ailment category Ntaxa Nur Fic

High blood pressure 3 10 0.78

Joints 1 3 1

Fractured bones 1 4 1

Anti-poison 1 3 1

Aphrodisiac 4 37 0.92

Diabetes 1 3 1

Eye infections 3 30 0.93

Asthma 1 4 1

Tonsillitis 2 6 1

Chest complaints 1 3 1

Gynaecological complaints 6 37 0.86

vomiting 2 8 0.86

Headache 2 13 0.92

Vaal sick 1 7 1

Stomach ache 14 114 0.88

New born infections 7 47 0.88

Diarrhoea 7 43 0.86

Tooth ache 1 2 1

Skin infections 5 28 0.85

Sores and wounds 3 7 0.67

General medicine 6 46 0.89

Ethno-veterinary infections 9 44 0.81

Blood purifier 5 35 0.88

Management of HIV-AIDS 15 110 0.80

Heart infections 3 16 0.87

Foot ache 4 39 0.92

Deceased’s wife 2 49 0.98

Sexually transmitted infections 24 209 0.89

Some taxa falls in more than one ailment categories


Table 5 Fidelity levels (FL) of plant species used for various uses by key informants

Medicinal Plant species Therapeutic uses Ip Iu FL %

Bauhinia galpinii Sexually transmitted infections 4 4 100

Mimusops zeyheri Sexually transmitted infections 4 4 100

Raphionacme hirsuta Sexually transmitted infections 16 21 72

Pollichia campestris Management of HIV-AIDS 6 6 100

Melia azeadarach Management of HIV-AIDS 12 12 100

Adansonia digitata Management of HIV-AIDS 9 12 75

Geigeria aspera Stomach related infections 18 18 100

Tragia dioica Stomach related infections 8 8 100

Solanum aculeastrum Stomach related infections 12 12 100

Solanum mauritianum Stomach related infections 21 21 100

Solanum supicum Stomach related infections 6 6 100

Securidaca longipedunculata Aphrodisiac for men 20 29 69

Hypoxis haemerocallidea Aphrodisiac for men 10 20 50

Cannabis sativa Vaal sick 7 11 64

Tallinum caffrum Heart related infections 6 6 100

Schotia brachypetala Diarrhoea 6 6 100

Strychnos spinosa Diarrhoea 6 8 75

Acacia karoo Diarrhoea 6 6 100

Urginea sanguinea Blood purifier 7 19 37

Jatropha erythropoda Blood purifier 10 10 100

Withania somnifera Gynaecological complaints 14 14 100

Ipomoea albivenia Gynaecological complaints 6 6 100

Securidaca longipedunculata Headache 9 29 31

Cannabis sativa Headache 4 11 36

Neorautanenia mitis Footache 12 12 100

Nerium oleander Toothache 2 4 50

Sida cordifolia High blood pressure 6 6 100

Vitis vinifera High blood pressure 3 5 60

Azanza gackeana Painful joints 3 3 100

Kirkia acuminata Fractured bones 4 4 100

Aloe marlothii Ethno-veterinary infections 3 6 50

Urginea sanguinea Ethno-veterinary infections 7 19 37

Cassia abbreviata Diabetes 3 18 17

Pterodiscus kellerianus New born babies 18 18 100

Ehretia rigida New born babies 7 7 100

Grewia flavescens New born babies 6 8 75

Jartoha zeyheri Eye infections 14 26 53

Elephantorrhiza burkei Eye infections 10 36 27

Ximenia americana Asthma 4 11 36

Dichrostachys cinerea Vomiting 4 7 57

Gymnosporia senegalensis Vomiting 4 15 27

Cynodon dactylon Tonsillitis 3 3 100

Ziziphus mucronata Tonsillitis 3 4 75

Catharanthus roseus Skin infections 7 11 63


within the Province is lagging behind and still needs to beenormously explored.

Significance of names of plant speciesSome plant species in the study are named either accordingto their physical morphological features, growth form ortheir role in the traditional indigenous medicine. Urgineasanguinea is commonly known as “Sekanama” whichmeans “like meat” referring to the blades from the bulb ofthe plant species and its reddish colour. Ximmenia caffra iscalled “Motshidikgomo”. Ximmenia species are generallycalled “Motshidi”, while the word “kgomo” means cow,which a symbol of a bigger material or object is referring tothe size of the fruit of species which is bigger than otherXimmenia species. Hypoxis haemerocallidea is known as“Monna wa maledu” referring to the beed-like structuresprotruding from the bulb and it translates to “a man withbeed”. “Makgonatsohle” is a plant species which is generallyused to treat all illnesses relating to stomach and it trans-lates to “cure all” referring to the ability of the plant speciesto cure all illnesses. Although there is a general trend thatall reddish medicinal plants are used to cleanse the blood.

“Thotamadi” is the name given to plant species and isgenerally believed to cleanse the bloodstream much bet-ter than all other species. “Madi” means blood. Cissusquadrangularis is indigenously known as “Mohlabadi-poo”. The word “hlaba” means stabbing or pinching, re-ferring to the pinching-like feeling that a patientgenerally feels after fumigation of the plant species.Waltheria indica is known as Mokhutesela, refereeing tothe ability of the plant species to cool the stomach.“Khuta” means heals or stops the roaring or ripens. As-paragus exuvialis is the plant species which the indigen-ous family that have a function at home normally burnsto disperse the clouds that may cause rain when thereare blackish or dark clouds which are associated withevil spirits. The idea is to let the rain come back at alater time interval. “Phatlalatsa” means disperse while“maru” refers to clouds.Capobrotus eludis is indigenously called “tima” which

means cooling off, referring to the ability of the plantspecies to cool off the pain, heat and fever associatedwith shingles, which is also known as “belt” (lepanta).Senna italica is commonly called “Morotelatshotshi”. In

Table 5 Fidelity levels (FL) of plant species used for various uses by key informants (Continued)

Medicinal Plant species Therapeutic uses Ip Iu FL %

Terminalia sericea Skin infections 10 23 43

Aloe marlothii Skin infections 3 14 21

Gardenia volkensii Chest complaints 3 4 75

Cassia abbreviata Anti-poison 3 18 17

Blepharis diversispina Deceased’ wife 23 29 79

Cucumis hirsuta Deceased’ wife 26 26 100

Ziziphus mucronata Sores and wounds 1 4 25

Carissa edulis Sores and wounds 3 13 23

Peucedanum sulcatum General medicine 11 11 100

Ipomoea alba General medicine 11 11 100

Ipomoea spp General medicine 3 4 75

Table 6 Reported biological activity of the plant species with FI value ≥70

Plant species Relevant Biological activities reported by other authors References

Blepharis diversispina None reported None Reported thus far.

Sclerocarrya birrea Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-proliferative,anti-oxidant, pro-apoptotic, anti-diarrhoeal,

[54–57]

Elephantorrhiza burkei Anti-microbial, Anti-inflammatory; [37, 45]

Peltophorum africanum Anti-HIV, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, anthelmintic, [58, 59]

Waltheria indica Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, anti-malarial, antiviral, antidiarrheal,analgesic anti-inflammatory

[60, 61]

Securidaca longipedunculata Antimicrobial, anti-malarial, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory,anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, anti-parasitic

[62]

Cissus quadrangularis Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, anti-malarial, antiviral, antidiarrheal,analgesic anti-inflammatory

[63]

Elephantorrhiza elephantina Antimicrobial [37]


Table 7 Reported combinations of various plant species in treating infections

Combinationnumber

Main Medicinal plants Other medicinal plants added Condition treated Mode of administration

1. Peltophorum africanum,stem bark

A handful of Elephantorrhizaburkei roots, Cassia abbreviatastem bark, three nodes of Cissusquadrangularis

Dropsy and other STIs on apatient without sores

The mixture is cooked in 2 L oftap water in a clay pot and thepatient have to inhale the heatcoming out of pot for threeconsecutive days.

2 Elephatorrhizaelephantina, roots

A handful of Jatropha zeyheriroot bark.

Eye infections The two plant specimen areimmersed in about 500 mL waterand the resulting solution is usedto wash eyes until healed.

3. Melia azeadarach,

Leaves

A handful of Carpobrotus eludisleaves and Catharanthus roseusleaves

Shingles The leaves of the three plantspecies are chopped and addedinto a bath with mild water andthe patient is washed for threeconsecutive days, three times aday or until the reddishnesssubsides.

4. Cassia abbreviata,

stem bark

A handful of Elephantorhizaburkei roots and Catharanthusroseus roots

Generally used to treat sexuallytransmitted infections.

The mixture is cooked in 1 L tapwater and a full cup is takenorally, along a groundPeltophorum africanum stembark, until the infection healscompletely.

5. Cassia abbreviata,Stem bark

A handful of Blepharis diversispinaroots, Elephantorrhiza burkeiroots, Jatropha zeyheri roots,Cissus quadrangularis andPeltophorum africanum stem bark

Generally used to treat sexuallytransmitted infections.

The plant materials are cooked ina 2 L water and half a cup of theresulting solution is drunk threetimes a day until the infectionheals completely.

6. Cassia abbreviata,Stem bark

Pollichia campestris roots,“Matshilana” roots, Waltheriaindica roots and a handful ofthe “Pitsa ya badisha” bulb

Sexually transmitted infectionsand opportunistic infections.

The plant materials are cooked inabout 3 L water and two cupsare taken daily

7. Punica granatum,Roots

Hapargophythum procumbensroots, Waltheria indica roots

Diarrhoea The mixture is cooked in a 3 Lbottle, and one cup is takenalong the dried and ground fruitpowder from Punica granatum.

8. Waltheria indica,Roots

A handful of Senna italicaroots, Ipomoea albivenia,Hapargophythum procumbens,Peltophorum africanum stem barkand one small cut of Cissuscornifolia bulb

Infertility The mixture is cooked in a 2 Ltap water and half a cup of theresulting tea like solution isdrunk twice a day, treatinginfertility.

9. Waltheria indica,Roots

A handful of various Solanumspecies, Geigeria aspera andSenna italica roots

Stomach aches and diarrhoea The mixture is cooked in 2 L tapwater and half a cup of theresulting solution may be drunkas often as possible, until thecondition is treated.

10. Grewia flavescens,roots

A handful of Waltheria indicaroots, Pterodiscus kellerianus roots,“Matshilana” roots, Senna italicaroots and any three differentSolanum species roots

New born meal that strengthenthe immunity and generalgrowth of new born babies.

The plants are cooked in a 3 Ltap water and the resultingsolution is generally called ‘disha’and is sucked by babies in a milkbottle.

11. Ipomoea bolusiana,bulb

A handful of and Cissus cornifoliaand Pollichia campestris.

Foot ache The mixture is cooked in a 3 Lclay pot, inhaled while still hot.When the heat cools off, theresulting mixture is poured into abin and then used to wash thelegs. The procedure is only donein the evening or during thenight, once a day until the painand infection heals.


Sepedi, the word “tshotshi” refers to ants, while “mor-oto” means urine, which generally refers to the yellowishcolour of the resulting liquid after immersing the rootsin water overnight. The yellow colour may be comingout of the root kernels which are light yellow when ma-tured. The plant species grows in abandoned ploughingland and always have ants in close proximity everywhereit grows. Indigenous taxonomy therefore makes moresense to the traditional community than the scientificsociety.

Mode of administrationIn the current study, 73% of species are administered or-ally. The results in the current study corroborate that ofother authors who reported the oral route as the mostcommon mode of medicine administration [41, 42]. Be-sides Securidaca longipedunculata (root bark) which istaken along with mageu, all the medicinal plants speciestaken orally are cooked with tap water and drunk until theinfections subsides or heal completely. S. longipedunculatais reported to be extremely bitter and have a lot of “aftertaste” and may at times result in vomiting. The use ofmageu as a carrier assist in preventing such circumstances.

Elsewhere, the root bark from S. longipedunculata is mixedwith that of Zanthoxylum humile and taken with soft por-ridge to treat erectile dysfunction [43].

Frequency index of documented plant speciesExcept Blepharis diversispina, all the species are re-ported to possess a potent antimicrobial activity againsta variety of pathogenic microbial strains. In a way, theresults in our current study validates the affectivity ofvarious plant species against patahogenic microbialstrains. However, it is amazing that the biological activityof extracts and isolated compounds from B. diversispinaare not explored.Medicinal plants with the highest FI value have related

ethnobotanical uses in other cultures. For example, Pelto-phorum africanum and Elephantorrhiza burkei have beenreported in the treatment of sexually transmitted infections,skin infections and diarrhoea amongst the Tswana, Vha-Venda and Tsonga cultural groups and a potency on suchactivities have been reported as well [44–47]. These speciesare of vital importance in the treatment of reportedinfections in combinations as shown below (Table 7).P. africanum has also been implicated in the treat-ment of various ethnoveterinary infections [48–50].

Combination studies of reported plant speciesThe combinations seems to be different from one trad-itional healer to the other. The purpose of compilingthese combination studies was to assist the other re-searchers in selection of medicinal plant species relatingto a specific illness. Earlier, [51], reported some differentcombination studies of related plant species, explainingthat different traditional healers from different localitiesmay use different plant species to treat different infec-tions. The results in the current study shows that thetraditional healers and plant sellers use variety of combi-nations in treating various ailments which includes sexu-ally transmitted infections, eye infections, diarrhoea, andopportunistic infections associated with HIV-AIDS, newborn babies illnesses and other gynaecological com-plaints as occurring in women. The other authors else-where reported the similar trend that indigenoussystems use a combination of two or more plant species

Fig. 5 Multi-stemmed Cassia abbreviata

Table 7 Reported combinations of various plant species in treating infections (Continued)Combinationnumber

Main Medicinal plants Other medicinal plants added Condition treated Mode of administration

12. Schotia brachypetala. A handful of Psidium guajavaroots and Dovyalis spp

Diarrhoea The plant materials are cooked ina 2 L water and a full cup of theresulting solution is reacted withhalf a spoon of ground seeds ofPunica granatum. The solution ismixed and then taken orallythree times a day until diarrhoeasubsides.


in treating infections [52]. However, from a scientificperspective, it may be difficult to determine which plantspecies contributes more active components than theothers as there are a huge number of chemical com-pounds involved. However, these is generally believed tocurb antimicrobial resistance.

Domesticated plant speciesFrom our visits in the homes of the informants, wefound species such as Withania somnifera, Ipomoeaalba, Punica granatum, Carica papaya, Vangueriainfausta, Sclerocarrya birrea, Kirkia acuminata, Cissusquadrangularis and Cassia abbreviata as some of theplant species grown in at least 10 homes. However, otherauthors reported most of the plant species found homes aspart of a garden to be used only as food supplements andornamental plants [53]. In our study, some plant speciessuch as W. somnifera, C quadrangularis, K. acuminata andI. alba are only used as medicine used to treat variety ofhuman and animal illnesses. When asked why only thosespecies are being domesticated, most informants believethat the plant species are used more often than others andare gradually declining in their natural environment. How-ever, some healers believe that some plant species are be-lieved to be efficient in treating infections only whencollected from the wild. Such healers further believes thatplant species in the wild are natural and have a strongerpower that comes from gods and the wind.

ConclusionsThe traditional knowledge of the indigenous people ofBlouberg varies from one traditional healer/ plat traderto the other. Traditional medicinal plants are mostlyused in the treatment of human infections, especiallysexually transmitted diseases, ethno-veterinary infec-tions, as sources of food and for magical purposes. Thereis correlation in terms of ethnomedicinal use betweencultures within Limpopo province. There is a need toexplore the wild food plants as there is lack of data inthat area of research. In the current, most plant speciesare used in the treatment of sexually transmitted infec-tions, management of HIV-AIDS, stomach related infec-tions and ethno-veterinary treatment. There is a need tofurther explore the possibility of documenting plant spe-cies used to treat such infections in future.

AcknowledgementsSylvester Lethulatshipi, Benjamin Mokgehle, Tlou Mongalo, TerrenceMongalo, Clerrence Mongalo, Ofentse Mongalo, Mphasha Molefe andLethabo Mashita assisted with field work, plant collection and datagathering. The authors are also thankful to the traditional healers and theplant sellers who contributed their knowledge towards the successfulcompletion of the research work.

FundingThe authors would like to express their deepest gratitude to the NationalResearch Foundation (Grant Unique Number 94179, University of SouthAfrica) for financial support to conduct this research.

Availability of data and materialsRaw data is contained in questionnaire forms and cannot be shared in thisform.

Authors’ contributionsMTJ contributed to the proposal of the idea. MTJ and MNI carried out thefield work laboratory work and data analysis while MTJ wrote the first draft.MNI collected, pressed, identified and contributed to the statistical analysis,ethnobotanical assistance, and wrote the final draft. MTJ is the Director ofResearch at Mangosuthu University of Technology (South Africa), while MNIis a laboratory Technician under Plant Sciences (University of South Africa),Florida Campus. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics approval and consent to participateThis study was approved by the University of South Africa’s Research EthicsCommittee. Before conducting interviews, all participants signed the consentform.

Consent for publicationThis manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data and therefore,there is no further consent is required for publication.

Competing interestsThe authors declares that they have no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s noteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims inpublished maps and institutional affiliations.

Author details1College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES) Laboratories,University of South Africa, Private BagX06, Johannesburg 0710, South Africa.2Research, Innovation & Engagements Portfolio, Mangosuthu University ofTechnology, P O Box 12363, Durban 4026, South Africa.

Received: 14 August 2017 Accepted: 18 June 2018

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Ethnobotanical knowledge of the lay people of Blouberg area ......Several ethnobotanical studies have been taken world-wide, documenting different plant species and preserving the