Baboon grape

Baboon grape; Rhoicissus digitata

Other members of the genus have many medicinal, culinary and traditional uses. The fruit of R. rhomboidea is edible. The Lobedu use the fleshy root of R. erythrodes (now R. tridentata subsp. cuneifolia ) in the treatment of the condition known to them as popo ya muyana, where the objective is to strengthen the part of the head of babies which is soft and pulsating. The swollen root is cut into quarters and boiled in water; this is used to make a soft mealie pap which is fed to the infant and then also portions of the plant are stamped into a pulp and applied over the fontanelle. This plant is also used as an epilepsy remedy and the purple fruit is edible. The Masai take a decoction of the root as a nerve stimulant and gonorrhoea remedy and the plant juice is used as a dressing for spear wounds. Poisoning of swine from eating the root of Rhoicissus erythrodes has been reported from Tanganyika. The stem of Rhoicissus revoilii contains a great deal of thin acid juice which is valued in Tanganyka in times of water shortage, and is also used as an addition to palm wine.

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Safou

Safou: Dacryodes edulis 

The preferential habitat of D. edulis is a shady, humid tropical forest. However, it adapts well to variations in soil type, humidity, temperature and day length. The natural range extends from Angola in the South, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the West and Uganda in the East. It is also cultivated in Malaysia.

The tree is also a source of many herbal medicines. It has long been used in the traditional medicine of some African countries to treat various ailments such as wound, skin diseases, dysentery and fever. The extracts and secondary metabolites have been found to show biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant  and anti sickle-cell disease. A wide range of chemical constituents such as terpenes, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins have been isolated from the plant.

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Rhinoceros bush

Rhinoceros bush; Elytropappus rhinocerotis 

Although the Renosterveld Vegetation Type is confined to the South-Western Cape of South Africa, the Renosterbos plant is much more widespread - occurring throughout the Cape Floristic Region and further, as far east as Molteno in the Eastern Cape, and as far north as Namibia. Renosterbos is also relatively common in this area, unlike most plants associated with Renosterveld vegetation.

As a consequence of livestock finding the plant relatively inedible, the Elytropappus rhinocerotis has spread in heavily grazed areas and increased in numbers relative to other (more easily grazed) plants.

Uses
Elytropappus rhinocerotis is a medicinal plant in traditional African medicine. The young tips of the branches are used in traditional medicine to treat indigestion and stomach ulcers. The foliage tips are now usually added to wine or brandy for such medicinal consumption.

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Cape mistletoe

Cape mistletoe; Viscum capense

A species of Mistletoe that is indigenous to South Africa, especially the area from Cape Town, northwards along the coast up to Namibia, and eastwards as far as the Eastern Cape province.

This parasitic plant has jointed stems, small leaves and tiny yellow flowers that produce translucent white berries. The fruit is dispersed by birds. The plant is poisonous but is nonetheless used in traditional African medicine, the plant being boiled to make a tea that is used to soothe asthma.

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Creeping foxglove

Creeping foxglove: Asystasia gangetica 

Widespread throughout the Old World Tropics, and introduced into tropical Americas and Hawaii, where it has become naturalized. Both subspecies of this plant have been introduced to Australia where A. g. micrantha is on the National Environmental Alert List and must be reported when found.The original range of the subspecies is unclear, but it is likely that A. g. gangetica was limited to Asia, and A. g. micrantha was limited to Africa.

In some parts of Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable and used as an herbal remedy in traditional African medicine. The leaves are used in many parts of Nigeria as a traditional African medicine for the management of asthma. It is also used as an ornamental plant

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