Grewia villosa

Grewia villosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Grewia
Species: G. villosa
Binomial name
Grewia villosa
Synonyms
  • Balmeda corylifolia Nocca
  • Grewia chaunothamnus K.Schum.
  • Grewia corylifolia A.Rich.
  • Grewia echinulata Delile
  • Grewia heynei Steud.
  • Grewia micropetala Bertol.
  • Grewia orbiculata G.Don [Illegitimate]
  • Grewia villifera Sweet
  • Grewia villosa B.Heyne ex Roth [Illegitimate]
  • Grewia villosa var. glabrior K.Schum.
  • Tridermia papillosa Raf. [1]

Grewia villosa .This is a shrub, often scrambling and hardly exceeding 4 m in height. Leaves are fairly large, serrated and heart-shaped. It grows naturally, mainly in dry habitats. It is common in most of the semi-arid parts of Eastern Africa but may now be rare in parts of its natural distribution. Seen in Ein Gedi oasis in Israel, common in South Africa. Its ripe copper-coloured fruits are eaten in East Africa.

Uses

The fruit of the Grewia villosa were eaten both while immature and green and also once they had ripened and hardened to a dark, reddish-brown. The bark was stripped off and crushed in water or chewed to a pulp which was used to wash the body as well as to clean the hair and disinfect the scalp [2]

Its wood was used to make a bow of a Cape Verdean musical instrument, the cimboa, traditionally used to be played with the batuque dances.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2833491
  2. ↑ G. Miller, Anthony; Morris, Miranda (1988). Plants of Dhofar. Oman: The Sultanate of Oman. p. 284. ISBN 071570808-2.
  3. ↑ Os Instrumentos Musicais em Cabo Verde [Musical Instruments of Cape Verde] (Brito, Margarida; Centro Cultural Português: Praia – Mindelo, 1998)
  • Maundu, P. M. ; Ngugi, G. W. ; Kabuye, C. H. S., 1999. Traditional food plants of Kenya. Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, National Museums of Kenya, 270 pages


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