Phytolacca dodecandra
| Phytolacca dodecandra | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Phytolaccaceae |
| Genus: | Phytolacca |
| Species: | P. dodecandra |
| Binomial name | |
| Phytolacca dodecandra | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sarcoca dodecandra (L'Hér.) Skalický | |
Phytolacca dodecandra, commonly known as endod, gopo berry, or African soapberry, is a trailing shrub or climber native to Tropical Africa, Southern Africa, and Madagascar.[1]
Endod (as it is known in Amharic or shibti in Tigrigna ) has been selected and cultivated by Africans for centuries, particularly in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is used as a soap and shampoo as well as a poison to stun fish. Endod is lethal to snails[1] - a fact discovered by Ethiopian scientists - and may be effective controlling schistosomiasis. After Aklilu Lemma, an Ethiopian scientist, demonstrated endod's potency to American scientists, they took out a patent, hoping to sell endod as a biological control for the Zebra mussel, a pest in the Great Lakes of the US and Canada.[2][3]
References
- 1 2 Hanelt, Peter (2001), Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (Except Ornamentals), Springer, ISBN 3-540-41017-1
- ↑ US 5252330, Lee, Harold H.; Peter C. Fraleigh & Aklilu Lema, "Method of controlling zebra mussels with extract of Phytolacca dodecandra", issued 1993
- ↑ US 5334386, Lee, Harold H. & Peter C. Fraleigh, "Method of controlling zebra mussels", issued 1994
External links
- Prelude Medicinal Plants Database
- Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Phytolacca dodecandra". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.