Heliotropium curassavicum
Heliotropium curassavicum is an annual to perennial, prostrate to ascending, sub succulent herb with stems up to 50cm or longer.
The plant is sometimes used locally as a source of food and medicine.
Hibiscus asper
Hibiscus asper is an annual to perennial herb growing up to 2 metres tall. The stems have fine prickles.
The plant is occasionally cultivated as a vegetable and fibre crop, especially in Senegal and DR Congo.
Hibiscus sabdariffa
Hibiscus sabdariffa is an erect, mostly branched, annual to perennial plant growing up to 4.5 metres tall. The stems often become woody, at least at the base, and can persist for more than a year.
An important multipurpose plant supplying a range of foods, medicines and other products. It has been grown as a food crop for around 6,000 years and is still widely cultivated in both tropical and sub-tropical zones both for food and for its fibre. There are some named varieties.
The plant is also grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its decorative red stalks.
The plant, especially the calyces, is traded internationally.
Jatropha multifida
Physic nut is an evergreen or semi-deciduous, slightly succulent shrub or a tree with a loose, spreading crown; it can grow up to 6 metres tall, though is more likely to be 2 - 3 metres tall in cultivation.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of oil. It was introduced as an ornamental into the Old-World tropics long ago and is often grown as a hedge.
The red inflorescence is in great demand by florists as it makes beautiful red corsages.
Kigelia africana
Sausage tree is an extremely variable, semideciduous tree with a large, dense, spreading crown; it sometimes grows up to 23 metres tall but is usually smaller.
The bole is sometimes crooked, it usually branches from low-down and can be 80cm in diameter.
An important medicinal plant in its native range, where it is commonly gathered from the wild for local use.
The fruits are often sold in local markets and, more recently, the plant has become an ingredient in commercial applications to treat a range of skin complaints.
The tree is often cultivated or protected in and around the villages of tropical Africa for medicinal purposes and to provide shade and a village meeting place.
It is also widely grown as an ornamental in the tropics of all continents, producing long lax pendulous panicles of attractive, maroon-coloured, yellow-veined flowers that can be nearly 1 metre long.
It is not advisable, however, to park a vehicle or to put up a tent underneath a sausage tree during the fruiting period. The 'sausages' that drop every so often weigh up to 12 kg and can cause considerable damage.
Launaea sarmentosa
Launaea sarmentosa is a creeping, herbaceous, perennial plant producing several branched stems 20 - 90cm tall. The plant grows from a taproot with a trailing shoot bearing lateral roots, with new stems arising from the lateral roots.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, often as a substitute for the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
Lawsonia inermis
Henna is a heavily-scented, much-branched, slender, evergreen shrub or small tree; it usually grows up to 6 metres tall, though specimens up to 12 metres have been recorded.
The stems and older branches can be spiny.
Henna has been used for thousands of years, especially in India, as a cosmetic and hair dye.
It is one of the oldest cosmetics in the world and its leaves are used to colour the fingernails, to paint or decorate the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, and to dye the hair. Written records of its use date back more than 2,500 years. It is of great importance in Islam, where it is used in many ceremonies, especially marriage. This latter use has been adopted also in Hinduism and Buddhism. The plant is often cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas both for its use as a dye plant and also as an ornamental, being appreciated especially for the strong, pleasant fragrance of its flowers, which is reminiscent of tea rose (Rosa chinensis).
Mangifera indica
Mango is a large, evergreen tree with a dark green, umbrella-shaped, spreading crown; it can grow from 10 - 45 metres tall.
The long bole can be 60 - 120cm in diameter.
The tree has a deep, tap-root system.
The mango is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world, having been grown in India 4,000 years ago.
From there its cultivation has spread and it is now grown extensively around the world in tropical regions, and the frost-free subtropics, for its edible fruit.
Melanthera biflora
Melanthera biflora is a coarse-growing perennial plant with stems that can become woody, at least at the base. The branching stems, which are usually 1 - 3 metres long but can reach 6 metres, can scramble over the ground or grow into other plants for support.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.
