Description

A strong woody climber of open wooded grassland and riverain forest, from Mali to S Nigeria, and extending across the Congo basin to E Africa and Madagascar.The flowers are bright crimson and decorative.In S Nigeria leaf-sap is dropped into wounds (2). A related species, S. tiliafolia (Desr.) Hall., has been reported containing at least six hallucinogenic indole alkaloids (1). S. beraviensis should be screened.Without distinguishing between species in Ivory Coast the genus is recorded with the following medicinal and superstitious usages: the inflorescence is a good remedy for tachycardia, cough and stomach complaints; leaf-sap is used in eye-instillations for eye-troubles and headache, and in frictions for oedemas and fever; the stem-sap is used against urethral discharges, to prevent miscarriage and to treat jaundice; root-pulp will maturate buboes and abscesses; the plant is put into many prescriptions for constipation, nausea, haemorrhage in pregnancy, ‘yellow’ fever, etc., and in medico-magical formulations to protect people and villages from evil spirits and illness. In these applications Aframomum spp. (Zingiberaceae) seem to be used also more or less indeterminately (1). Costus spp. recorded for Ivory Coast are afer Ker-Gawl; deistelii K. Schum.; dubius (Afzel.) K. Schum.; englerianus K. Schum.; lucanusianus J. Braun & K. Schum.; schlechteri Winkler; and spectabilis (Fenzl) K. Schum.

Description

A strong woody climber of open wooded grassland and riverain forest, from Mali to S Nigeria, and extending across the Congo basin to E Africa and Madagascar.The flowers are bright crimson and decorative.In S Nigeria leaf-sap is dropped into wounds (2). A related species, S. tiliafolia (Desr.) Hall., has been reported containing at least six hallucinogenic indole alkaloids (1). S. beraviensis should be screened.Without distinguishing between species in Ivory Coast the genus is recorded with the following medicinal and superstitious usages: the inflorescence is a good remedy for tachycardia, cough and stomach complaints; leaf-sap is used in eye-instillations for eye-troubles and headache, and in frictions for oedemas and fever; the stem-sap is used against urethral discharges, to prevent miscarriage and to treat jaundice; root-pulp will maturate buboes and abscesses; the plant is put into many prescriptions for constipation, nausea, haemorrhage in pregnancy, ‘yellow’ fever, etc., and in medico-magical formulations to protect people and villages from evil spirits and illness. In these applications Aframomum spp. (Zingiberaceae) seem to be used also more or less indeterminately (1). Costus spp. recorded for Ivory Coast are afer Ker-Gawl; deistelii K. Schum.; dubius (Afzel.) K. Schum.; englerianus K. Schum.; lucanusianus J. Braun & K. Schum.; schlechteri Winkler; and spectabilis (Fenzl) K. Schum.