Gomphocarpus fruticosus
Gomphocarpus fruticosus is not in the Expanded Monograph processing cue. If you want to add it to the cue, or if you can provide any additional information, photos or reliable use records of this muthi plant, please leave a comment below, or in The Muthi Flora of southern Africa Facebook group.
Traditional Medicinal Uses of Gomphocarpus fruticosus
Indications: Administered to both people and animals. Applied in a magical sense. Caution: Harmful to people or animals.
Eco-Gardening
Gomphocarpus fruticosus is a slender, erect, branching perennial shrub that contains milky latex. It has dark green, lanceolate leaves with creamy small flowers borne between summer and autumn as pendulums together in groups of up to 10. The fruits are hairy green heart-shaped follicles, containing small black seeds that appear when the fruits burst open, each seed has a long silky hair allowing for it to be transported by wind. Gomphocarpus fruticosus is mildly poisonous but many butterfly species feed on it. The butterflies then also become poisonous and that protects them from predation. It can be grown in almost any soil type and is fairly short-lived but easy to propagate. (Credit: Wildflower Nursery)
References
Arnold. T.H., Prentice, C.A., Hawker, L.C., Snyman, E.E., Tomalin, M., Crouch, N.R. and Pottas-Bircher, C. (2002). Medicinal and magical plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 13. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
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