Description

A woody shrub to 2 m high with thick succulent branches and prominent leaf-scars, of sandy soil and dunes behind the sea foreshore; common along the coastline from Senegal to Nigeria, and on to Angola.The branches are ascending or prostrate. The underground roots may coppice. The plant is a good sand-binder helping to fix coastal sand-dunes (1, 2, 4, 5). On the coast of Zaïre, it is said to fix dunes sometimes to 5 m high (6). It often grows in association with Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae) (5) and Sporobolus spicatus (Gramineae) (6).The leaf is used in Senegal in poultices, lotions and decoctions to maturate inflammations, as an emmenagogue and diuretic, and to treat thickening of the cornea and for conjunctivitis (1). The leaf and other parts of the plant are prepared as a syrup for treating venereal diseases. A weak dose promotes sweating, a stronger use is purgative, and more still emetic (1). Leaves put into water are used in Ghana for washing fever patients (3).Stem-bark is bitter and tonic (1). Pith is regarded in Senegal as good against diarrhoea, and to be aphrodisiac (1).The fruit is blue and fleshy. The Gbe-Vhe name (see above) associates it with the edible fruit of Vitex grandifolia (Verbenaceae): fσyi, and is said to be edible also, but is acrid to the palate (7).

Description

A woody shrub to 2 m high with thick succulent branches and prominent leaf-scars, of sandy soil and dunes behind the sea foreshore; common along the coastline from Senegal to Nigeria, and on to Angola.The branches are ascending or prostrate. The underground roots may coppice. The plant is a good sand-binder helping to fix coastal sand-dunes (1, 2, 4, 5). On the coast of Zaïre, it is said to fix dunes sometimes to 5 m high (6). It often grows in association with Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae) (5) and Sporobolus spicatus (Gramineae) (6).The leaf is used in Senegal in poultices, lotions and decoctions to maturate inflammations, as an emmenagogue and diuretic, and to treat thickening of the cornea and for conjunctivitis (1). The leaf and other parts of the plant are prepared as a syrup for treating venereal diseases. A weak dose promotes sweating, a stronger use is purgative, and more still emetic (1). Leaves put into water are used in Ghana for washing fever patients (3).Stem-bark is bitter and tonic (1). Pith is regarded in Senegal as good against diarrhoea, and to be aphrodisiac (1).The fruit is blue and fleshy. The Gbe-Vhe name (see above) associates it with the edible fruit of Vitex grandifolia (Verbenaceae): fσyi, and is said to be edible also, but is acrid to the palate (7).