South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

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South African Journal of Botany

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sajb

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal and edible plants used in Nhamacoaarea, Manica province�Mozambique

Hainner Aparicioa,*, Inga Hedbergb, Salomao Bandeirac, Abdolbaset Ghorbanid

a Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Friedrich-Engels-Strasse 13, 16225 Eberswalde, Germanyb Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyv€agen 18D, SE 75236 Uppsala, Swedenc Department of Biological Sciences (DCB), Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambiqued Abdolbaset Ghorbani, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyv€agen 18D SE, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article History:Received 1 September 2020Revised 14 February 2021Accepted 23 February 2021Available online 25 March 2021

Edited by by OM Grace

* Corresponding author.E-mail addresses: hainner.aparicio@hnee.de (H. Apar

(I. Hedberg), salomao.bandeira4@gmail.com (S. Bandeiuu.se (A. Ghorbani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.02.0290254-6299/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.

A B S T R A C T

Ethnobotanical relevance: Miombo woodlands are an important source of food and medicine for rural com-munities in Mozambique. Despite their importance as a source of livelihood and healthcare, logging for char-coal production and conversion of forest relicts to agricultural land threaten their biodiversity along with thetraditional knowledge associated with this vegetation type.Aim of the study: To document ethnobotanical knowledge and to identify medicinal and economic species thatcan be used as potential alternative sources of livelihoods for the inhabitants Miombowoodlands inMozambique.Materials and methods: This study was carried out in the Nhamacoa area, Macate district of Manica province,Mozambique. Free listing and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect ethnobotanical data. Theinformants were heads of families randomly selected from the 329 ha of the area of study. Information aboutmedicinal and edible plants, their uses, harvesting practices, management, preparation and possible com-mercialisation was recorded and voucher specimens were collected. From October 2019 to January 2020,data collection was carried out and later, plant samples were identified. All the collected data was structuredin a database and analysed by using the ethnobotanyR package in R.Results: A total of 106 species from 52 families were reported as medicinal or edible: 55.2% used as food and43.1% as traditional medicine. It was possible to identify 94 of the voucher specimens collected (90.3% of thebotanical collection). Out of 32 uses, 29 were as medicine. The quantitative indices showed different cultur-ally important species and the local markets situation showed the potential for commercialisation. Theresults of this study indicate that ailments or illnesses in the digestive system, alleviation of wounds and sex-ual-reproductive system problems are commonly treated with medicinal plants within the area of study.Conclusions: Botanical knowledge, cultural value, utilisation and management practices of 106 plant specieswere documented. Promoting the planting and commercialisation of some of these species could offer alter-native sources of livelihoods or income to the inhabitants of the region, while ensuring exploitation is sus-tainable. The important role of non-timber forest products and the need to conserve Miombo woodlandsrelicts for the communities within and around Nhamacoa have been reaffirmed.© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of SAAB. This is an open access article under the CC

BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Keywords:

Miombo woodlandsNon-timber forest productsTraditional knowledgeConservationTraditional medicine Africa

icio), inga.hedberg@ebc.uu.sera), abdolbaset.ghorbani@ebc.

V. on behalf of SAAB. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

1. Introduction

For many people living in and around forests, non-timber forestproducts (NTFPs) are an important component of livelihood. In addi-tion to providing daily subsistence needs such as food, medicine andfuel, they contribute to households’ cash income, which can reach upto 20�50% of household’s income in some communities (Ambrose-

Oji, 2003; Boesi, 2014). NTFP collection has been identified as oneway in which rural communities maintain food security and treatmedical problems. Their extraction has also been emphasised as anactivity that rural people can engage in to generate income that mini-mises environmental degradation compared to conventional forestresource exploitation (Tiwari et al., 2004). NTFPs have been identifiedas potential means of rural livelihood improvement while contribut-ing to biodiversity conservation through conservation of forests(Shackleton, 2011). The first step in planning NTFP based conserva-tion programs in an area is to invent available resources and identifi-cation of potent NTFPs (Huber et al., 2010).

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

Several studies have investigated and described current uses ofNTFPs in Mozambique and/or highlighted their role in the subsis-tence activities of rural populations (Albano, 2002; Lynam et al.,2004). In the rural areas of Mozambique, most people live in commu-nities surrounded by Miombo woodlands and rely directly on thiskind of woodland for many different aspects of their life, perceivingMiombo as a common good (Bruschi et al., 2014). Marketing of wood-land products may be a key component of household livelihood sys-tems (Campbell, 1996).

Despite the importance of this ecosystem, several studies showthat the Miombo woodlands are under significant human pressure(Chirwa et al., 2008). This was initially due to clearance of woodlandfor agriculture and home construction but has now been followed byexploitation of the woodlands for wood fuel sales (Frost, 1996). Har-vesting of domestic wood fuel is often perceived as a major cause ofwoodland degradation in southern Africa (Abbot, 1996).

The Nhamacoa forest is a remnant of a once enormousMiombo forest(Campbell, 1996; WWF, 2018). Surrounded by subsistence farmers andtheir fields “machambas”, it is home to a great diversity of plant and ani-mal species. The forest is an important source of NTFPs, includingmedici-nal plants and wild fruits for the local people living around the forest.However, there is no systematic study on the diversity of these productsin Nhamacoa forest and their contribution to the household economy.

This study aims to document the ethnobotanical knowledge andto identify medicinally and economically important species that canbe potentially used as alternative source of income and/or livelihoodsfor the inhabitants of Nhamacoa area. Subsequently, cultural value,utilisation and management practices of those species in the commu-nities is documented.

Fig. 1. AoI Location - Nhamacoa area.Source: � 2

319

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Study area

Nhamacoa forest is located in Macate district, Manica province,Mozambique (Fig. 1). The 329 hectares corresponding to the area ofstudy, lie on average 700 metres above sea level in a hilly landscape,with slope gradients from 2% to 35%. Average daily temperature is27 °C and rainfall is mainly distributed in summer, while the wintersare mostly dry (Worlddata.info, 2020). The climate is classified ashumid subtropical climate (Cwa) by the K€oppen-Geiger system. InMacate district, the average annual temperature is 21.2 °C. Precipita-tion is about 1036 mm per year (Climate-data.org, 2020). However,in 2019 and 2020, torrential rain has widely surpassed the highestprecipitation values seen in the last ten years.

As for vegetation, the prevailing land covers are agricultural landand Miombo woodlands. The latter is classified in “Mato fechado”closed woodlands or “Mato aberto” open woodlands embedded intoa matrix of grassland or savannah. Apart from these, the vegetation ismostly agricultural crops of maize and okra with some other subsis-tence crops and open woodlands with isolated trees. The primaryspoken language is chiTewe followed by Portuguese. The main eco-nomic activity is agriculture, especially maize, okra and other subsis-tence crops, followed by livestock, charcoal production and fisheries.Handicraft is not regarded as an important activity.

2.2. Ethnobotanical data collection

Ethnobotanical data collection was carried out from October 2019to January 2020 through free-listing and semi-structured interviews.A community leader accompanied the research team during theinterviews, which were carried out in the local language chiTewe andthen translated into Portuguese. The research goals were explained

020 Google LLC. (accessed 03 March 2020).

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

and prior informed consent from the informants obtained verbally.Interviews were carried out in accordance with guidelines providedby the International Society for Ethnobiology code of ethics, theaccepted best practice for ethnobotanical studies (ISE, 2006).

A total of 25 informants were interviewed (14 women and 11men), their ages ranging from 40 to 86 years old (average: 57,3 §13,5). They were 22 randomly selected villagers, heads of differentfamilies living in the villages within and throughout the area of study.In addition, two local “curandeiros” (traditional healers trusted tohave the power to be guided by spirits) and one “profeta” (traditionalhealer believed to heal also the souls and foresee occurrences orfuture events). The informants were asked to free-list any medicinaland edible plant they collect and use from and around Miombowoodlands. Detailed information about their use characteristics,plant parts, methods of collection, availability, management or prepa-ration methods and commercialisation (if there was any) wasrecorded. Voucher specimens were collected for each plant. Demo-graphic and socio-economic data relating to each informant such asgender, age, role in the community, working activity and otheraspects, were also recorded.

2.3. Identification of specimens

Voucher specimens collected during the fieldwork were depositedat the Herbarium of the Faculty of Sciences, Universidade EduardoMondlane (LMU). The specimens were identified by local botanists atthe LMU Herbarium using the Flora of Mozambique and other localFloras (Hyde et al., 2020). Ten specimens could not be identified dueto their phenological stage and were presented only by the localname given in this study. Botanical nomenclature follows The PlantList. (2013) Version 1.1.

2.4. Markets visits

Local markets at Macate district main trading point and Chimoiolocal markets were visited. The aim of the visits was to identify theplant products coming from forests that are commonly traded, theirpopularity, potential and trading prices at local and regional levels. Inaddition, visits to centralised markets in Maputo such as “Bazar daBaixa” and “Mercado Janet” were made in order to explore the plantproducts that are commonly traded and their prices. Several standattendants were asked about forest products that have a relativeimportant commercialisation, their current chains of trade, levels ofdemand and promising perspectives.

2.5. Data processing and analyses

The collected data was edited and structured based on use reportsusing MS-Excel. Each column is an attribute of that citation: fieldidentification, scientific and local plant names, occurrence, habit,used part(s), uses and other aspects. In cases of mixed preparations,all the species contained in the mixture were counted once for eachdifferent use mentioned. The species are listed in Table 2 in alphabet-ical order of scientific name.

Quantitative analysis was performed with the ethnobotanyRpackage in R (Cory, 2020). Data were specially prepared and struc-tured in a specific data frame in order to fit ethnobotanyR require-ments. The ethnobotanyR package is used to calculate commonquantitative ethnobotany indices to assess the cultural significance ofplant species based on informant consensus (Cory, 2020). Accordingto Tardío and Pardo de Santayana (2008), a culturally important plantis “a species desired, preferred, or with an effective evaluation bymost members of a specific culture”.

All the data was processed by means of suitable quantitativeindexes for plants identified at least at genus level. These indices

320

were calculated in order to identify the most used and relevant spe-cies within the study area.

The calculated indices were: The use report (UR) per species,which is a count of the number of informants who mention each use-category for the species and the sum of all uses in each use-category(Prance et al., 1987). The number of uses (NU) per species is the sumof all categories for which a species is considered useful (Prance et al.,1987). The cultural importance (CI) index, calculates the culturalimportance index for each species in the data set. (Tardío and Pardode Santayana, 2008). The frequency of citation (FC) per species isthe sum of informants that cite a use for the species in the dataset(Prance et al., 1987). The relative importance (RI) index calculatesthe relative importance for each species in the data set. (Tardío andPardo de Santayana, 2008).

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Species diversity

A total of 645 use reports were recorded for 106 different species.Two of these species were not collected due to seasonal unavailabil-ity. It was possible to identify 94 species from the voucher specimens(90.3% of the collection) belonging to 52 families and 86 genera. Thedominant family was Fabaceae with 12 species, followed by Cucurbi-taceae and Apocynaceae with six species each. Regarding the habit ofthe species, 35.9% of the plants were trees. Shrubs, climbers andherbs have a similar occurrence with values around 20% each. Theseresults are congruent with literature and similar studies in this region(Ribeiro et al., 2010; Bruschi et al., 2011, 2014).

The majority of the reported species (92.3%) were collected indense woodland. However, 10 species (7.7%) were gathered as culti-vated plants from the agricultural fields (machambas) or open wood-land. This situation is common since villagers keep a cultivated stockof some species for their own livelihood or reserves in case of urgentneed. The fact that most of the reported species belong to natural for-ested areas, confirms the importance of this ecosystem in the region.

3.2. Uses of plants

The species reported are used for 32 different purposes. From the645 use reports, 55.2% are related to food security, followed by tradi-tional medicine with 43.1% and a mere 1.7% was reported for handi-craft uses. This shows that NTFPs are important contributors to foodsecurity and health care of the communities in the region, as hasbeen also mentioned in other studies (Bonet and Vall�es, 2002; Alíet al., 2009). The results of medicinal uses/treated ailments are shownin Table 1. Details of the recorded species along with local and scien-tific names, habit, habitat, reported availability level, reported uses,used plant parts, ways of preparation and administration andreported local commercialisation (if reported), are given in Table 2.

3.2.1. Edible plants and usesOut of a variety of food types, 42 of 106 species were reported as

edible. The most common being the fruits from the forest such as:Strychnos madagascariensis, Vangueria infausta, Persea americana,Strychnos spinosa and Annona senegalensis among others, which areeaten fresh. Another common type of food are tubers from speciessuch as Trema orientalis, Ipomoea venosa or the unidentified“Maguruzamba”, are usually cooked or boiled to be eaten. Leaves ofMomordica balsamina, Cucumis metuliferus and Cucurbita pepo arewidely used to prepare salads or what is called “carril”, which is asauce-stew prepared from leaves that is eaten with boiled groundedmaize. Persea americana, Cucumis metuliferus and Cucurbita pepoare also usually cultivated in the “machambas” in order to secureenough stock for daily consumption and shortage times.

Table 1Cited medicinal uses.

Medicinal uses/treatedailment

Nr. of citations % of total Nr. of species cited

Total 278 100 91Digestive system 123 44,2 39Stomachache 86 30,9 29Antimalaria 24 8,6 2Diarrhoea 10 3,6 5Appetite opening 1 0,4 1Dysentery 1 0,4 1Parasites 1 0,4 1

Wounds-bruises 34 12,2 13Wounds 28 10,0 9Inflammations 4 1,4 2Bruises 1 0,4 1Pain after childbirth 1 0,4 1

Sexual-reproductivesystem

23 8,3 13

Sexual vitality 12 4,3 4Venereal diseases 10 3,6 8Vaginas closing or

toning1 0,4 1

Respiratory system 11 4 6Cough 6 2,2 2Tuberculosis 3 1,1 3Breathing problems 2 0,7 1

Other health ailments 87 31,3 20Ringworm (Tinea

corporis)18 6,5 2

Organism cleaning 16 5,8 1Headache 14 5,0 3High blood pressure 12 4,3 1Liver cleaner 7 2,5 1Tooth ache 7 2,5 5Diabetes 3 1,1 1Fever 3 1,1 1Haemorrhages 3 1,1 1Baby’s belly buttons

cure1 0,4 1

Baby's fontanelle 1 0,4 1Cataracts 1 0,4 1Teeth cleaning 1 0,3 1

Other uses 11 1,7 2Soap 11 100 2

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

The tuber of Smilax anceps is considered toxic for human con-sumption and should be prepared under a specific procedure. Prod-ucts from the fruit of Adansonia digitata and leaves from Moringaovalifolia are popular among villagers and in local and regional mar-kets. There are already different presentations and multiple tradersdue to their recognised vitamins content and nutritional value.

3.2.2. Medicinal plants and their usesA total of 91 species were reported as medicinal. Treatment of

digestive system problems expressed as diarrhoea and stomach-achewere, among others, the most common with 44.2% of the reportedmedicinal uses. Mainly associated to diseases as malaria, dysentery,and cholera, these ailments and/or their symptoms are treated with avariety of plants (Table 2). As for malaria treatments, Momordica bal-samina yielded an outstanding 23/24 use reports, which demon-strates that for the communities of Nhamacoa area, drinking aninfusion of the leaves and fruits from this specific plant is effectiveagainst malaria and its symptoms. Also, it is worth to remark that theunidentified “chifiti” leaves were specifically mentioned as a usefultreatment of dysentery.

Tubers of Hypoxis hemerocallidea and stems of Acmella caulirhizaare commonly used for wound alleviation. Fibres from branches ofAnnona senegalensis and roots of Ornithogalum sp., were reportedeffective as anti-inflammatory. Seed oil of Ricinus communis is tradi-tionally used for the treatment of bruises and as primary element incurandeiro’s preparations.

321

Pulverized bark from Sterculia quinqueloba, and infusion from theroots of Cassia afrofistula were reported by knowledgeable inform-ants as a powerful aphrodisiac. Same qualities but in a lower intensitywere attributed to fruits from Adansonia digitata. Venereal diseasesare treated with the infusions from roots of the unidentified “puzua”,Tecoma capensis or Coccinia sp. among others. The infusion from theroots of Afzelia quanzensis was reported as effective in vaginal ton-ing, having the property to close the vagina of the woman when shehas had intercourse before the family has approved the union, (this isa cultural-religious tradition that is rather strictly followed in thecommunities of the region). These species could be an interesting tar-get for further investigation on their bioactive components and prop-erties, especially considering the widespread concern of individualsabout conditions such as impotence, libido decrease or genitalia aes-thetics.

Other ailments such as ringworm, are unanimously believed to beeffectively treated with exudate of Pterocarpus angolensis or macer-ated tuber of Hypoxis hemerocallidea. The latter was also reported at16 occasions as an internal organ cleanser. There was also a consen-sus that the leaves from the unidentified “nungumira” reduces bloodpressure, that fruits of Bobgunnia madagascariensis help to cureheadaches, and that Momordica balsamina, are effective liver cleans-ers.

Leaves from Psidium guayaba and stems from Hibiscus surattensiswere recognised to be effective in the treatment of cough and breath-ing difficulties. Bark from Albizia versicolor and stems from Pteleop-sis myrtifolia were reported as used to treat tuberculosis.

The results of this investigation have shown that ailments or ill-nesses in the digestive system, healing of wounds and sexual-repro-ductive system problems are commonly treated with medicinalplants in Nhamacoa area and Macate district. Similar results werefound by Bandeira et al. (2001), Ribeiro et al. (2010) andBruschi et al. (2014). The situation has probably remained this waydue to facts such as: strong faith of the communities in their beliefsand their healers, a visible lack of medical infrastructure and cover-age, mobility difficulties, and the fact that heads of family often needto cope with common ailments within the family.

3.2.3. Used parts/components, preparation and administrationFrom all the reported uses, the roots are the most used part of

plants (roots of 50 species were reported to be utilised for differentpurposes), followed by fruits (30 species), leaves of 23 species andthe bark of eight species. Other plant parts/components such as exu-date, stems and seeds represented less than 5% of uses. These resultsshow consistency with what was found by Krog et al. (2006),Ribeiro et al. (2010) and Bruschi et al. (2011, 2014) in similar studiesin Mozambique and confirm the relevance of roots as a powerfulsource of medicines in regional traditional beliefs. The most commonway of preparation is the infusion with oral administration (nearly60% of the reported cases).

3.3. Quantitative ethnobotanic indices

Cultural indices have shown to have different applications andlimitations (Albuquerque et al., 2006; Hoffman and Gallager, 2007;Tardío and Pardo de Santayana, 2008) and their use should be care-fully evaluated in ethnobotanical studies (Albuquerque et al., 2006).Cultural indexes place more emphasis on species with a high numberof uses, without taking into account the number of people citingthese uses (Albuquerque et al., op.cit.). The way in which culturalindices were analysed, was by reviewing them in parallel with eachother, considering those ones derived from number of use reports,number of uses and number of informants, in this way smaller risk toovervalue or undervalue species’ importance, was taken.

The majority of the important species are valued as a source offood. However, Hypoxis hemerocallidea, appears to be the most

Table2

Detailedresu

ltsof

citedplan

ts.

Loca

lnam

e/VN

Scientificnam

eNaturality

Hab

itUsedpa

rtSp

ecificuse

Ava

ilab

leUR

Prepa

ration

andad

ministration

Trad

ing

Dereremuc

hang

o,Quiab

oAfrican

o/57

Abe

lmosch

usescu

lentus

L.Moe

nch.

W/P

Herb

Fruit

Food

E22

Colle

cted

fruits

areprep

ared

instew

s.Verypo

pularin

localm

arke

ts50

MZN

/Kg.

Chichu

iti/91

Acm

ella

caulirhiza

Delile

.W

Clim

ber

Stem

Mou

thwou

nds

M7

Thestem

istake

n,ch

ewed

forafew

mom

ents

andsp

ited

out.

Ownus

e.

Malam

be/54

Ada

nson

iadigitata

L.W

Tree

Fruit

Food

/Sex

ual

vitality/

Vitam

ins

source

D9/4/13

Theseed

swiththeco

vering

white

cotton

isprep

ared

inmilk

shak

esor

smoo

thies

or,the

cotton

isdried,

conv

ertedinto

powde

ran

dad

dedto

juices.

Commercialized

inlocalm

arke

ts.

100MZN

/500

grof

seed

s.Mus

soco

ssa,

Chan

futa/31

Afzelia

quan

zensisW

elw.

WTree

Bark

Baby

'sfontan

elle

M1

Apieceof

theba

rkiscu

tand

dried,

then

macerated

topo

wde

r.Th

isprod

uctismixed

inba

by'spo

rridge

.

Ownus

e.

Root

Vag

inas

toning

M1

Theroot

isex

cava

ted,

putinco

ldwater

torest

forawhile

andwiththat

water

theva

gina

shou

ldbe

washe

dfor

seve

rald

aysor

awee

kto

closeitor

tigh

tenit.

Ownus

e.

Gom

ate/45

Albizia

versicolor

Oliv

.W

Tree

Bark

Tube

rculosis

E1

Theba

rklocatedin

therising

andsettingof

thesu

nside

siscu

t,pu

tinapo

twithwater,let

itbo

ilan

dthen

rest

todrinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Babo

sa,A

loeve

ra/86

Aloesp

PAga

veLe

aves

Stom

acha

che/

wou

nds

D1/6

Thesu

cculen

tlea

fiscu

t,divide

dinto

smallp

ieces,

putinwater

andthewater

isdrun

k.Th

eintern

alfluidcanbe

used

tocu

rean

dco

oldo

wnwou

nds.

Ownus

e.

Chibon

chi/99

Alterna

nthe

rasessilis(L.)DC.

WHerb

Leav

esFo

odE

1Th

eleav

esareco

oked

forstew

s.Ownus

e.Muroro,

Ata,A

teira/34

Ann

onasene

galensisPe

rs.

WTree

Bran

ches

Inflam

mations

E2

Use

thefibrewiththreekn

otsan

dtieitto

theaffected

part.

Ownus

e.

Fruit

Food

E15

Eatafterco

llecting.

Ownus

e.Mug

aram

unhu

/42

Antidesmaveno

sum

E.Mey

.Tul.

WSh

rub

Root

Stom

achache

E1

Dig

roots,cu

tinto

smallp

ieces,pu

tinto

boiling

water

andletthe

mrest,d

rink

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Fruit

Food

E1

Eatafterco

llecting.

Ownus

e.Mus

sequ

essa/33

Bauh

inia

thon

ning

iiSchu

m.

WTree

Root

Stom

achache

E9

Rootsarecu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tthe

min

boiling

water

andletthe

mrest,

drinkthewater.(Ach

efrom

cons

tipa

tion

).

Ownus

e.

Fruit

Food

E3

Eatafterco

llecting.

Ownus

e.Muc

hiqu

iri/94

Bersam

aab

yssinica

Fresen

.W

Tree

Fruit

Food

E1

Eatafterco

llecting.

Ownus

e.Nha

mus

ongo

ro,P

auferro/3

Bobg

unniamad

agascarien

sis

(Desv.)J.H

.Kirkb

r.&

Wiersem

a.

WTree

Fruit

Hea

dach

eD

11Use

completefruit,seto

nfire

andbrea

the

thesm

oke.Fruc

tification

inau

gust

butfruitislong

lasting.

Ownus

e.

Unk

nown_

1/12

Boerha

viadiffu

saL.

WHerb

Leav

esHan

dwou

nds

E2

Themacerated

leav

esareplaced

over

the

wou

ndan

dco

veredwithacloth.

Ownus

e.

Mus

abora,Pirrip

irri/104

Capsicum

frutescens

L.P

Shrub

Fruit

Food

E18

Green

orripe

fruitisco

llected

,dried

and

chop

pedor

powde

redto

preserve

andflav

ourfood

s.

Verypo

pular.

100MZN

/10

0grs.

Muc

oca/10

0Ca

rdiospermum

halicacab

umL.

WClim

ber

Root

Toothache

E1

Theroot

isex

tracted,

clea

nedan

dpe

eled

;thescraping

massisplaced

onthetoothwithpa

in.

Ownus

e.

Mup

apay

a,Pa

paye

ra/103

Carica

papa

yaL.

PTree

Root

Toothache

/Foo

dE

1/2

Theroot

ismacerated

agains

taston

e,theresu

ltingmassisplaced

ontheaffected

tooth.

Ownus

e.

Kan

jonjo,

Kaw

anga

,Murum

anha

ma/10

Cassia

afrofistulaBren

an.

WSh

rub

Root

Sexu

alvitality,

stom

achache

E3/4

Dig

theroots,cu

tthe

minto

smallp

ieces,

putthe

min

abo

wlw

ithwater

for

seve

ralh

ours.D

rink

thewater.

Inlocalm

arke

tsby

specific

trad

ers.

Chiriape

mbe

/49

Catuna

rega

mspinosa(Thu

nb.)Tirven

g.W

Shrub

Root/

Leav

esTu

berculosis

E1

Colle

cttheleav

es,d

ryan

dbu

rnthem

,the

n,theashe

sareea

tenat

thesametimewiththe

infusion

prep

ared

withtheroots.

Ownus

e.

Chipem

baforga/63

Cissam

peloshirtaKlotzsch.

WClim

ber

Root

Stom

achache

E2

Dig

roots,cu

tinto

smallp

ieces,pu

tinto

water

andletthe

mrest

foron

eho

uran

dthen

drinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Renz

a/97

Cissus

integrifo

lia(Bak

er)P

lanc

h.W

Clim

ber

Leav

es/

Fruit

Food

E1

Thefruitloo

kslik

easm

alltom

atothat

isco

nsum

edfresh;

theleav

esarealso

prep

ared

withmea

lsas

stew

.

Ownus

e.

Muo

re/85

Coccinia

spW

Clim

ber

Root

Ven

erea

ldisea

ses

E1

Therootsaresettodryun

derthesu

n,macerated

andthispo

wde

ris

cons

umed

withthebe

verage

san

dmea

ls.

Ownus

e.

(con

tinu

edon

next

page

)

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

322

Table2(Con

tinu

ed)

Loca

lnam

e/VN

Scientificnam

eNaturality

Hab

itUsedpa

rtSp

ecificuse

Ava

ilab

leUR

Prepa

ration

andad

ministration

Trad

ing

Chiposa/93

Combretum

aden

ogon

ium

A.Rich.

WTree

Root

Wou

nds

E2

Theroot

isex

cava

ted,

clea

nedan

dscrape

d;thefoam

prod

uced

isplaced

over

thewou

nds.

Ownus

e.

Chicon

begu

a/40

Crossopteryx

febrifu

gaBe

nth.

WTree

Bark

Stom

achache

E2

Theba

rkiscu

tand

putinco

ldwater

forawhile

andthen

thewater

isdrun

k.Ownus

e.

Muc

acamun

zua,

Pepino

africano

/23

Cucu

mismetulife

rusNau

din.

WClim

ber

Fruit/

Leav

esFo

odE

16Th

efruitisco

llected

andprep

ared

ascu

cumbe

r.Th

eleav

esarealso

cons

umed

inthestew

s.In

localm

arke

ts.

40MZN

/Kg.

Mutiquiti,A

bobra/89

Cucu

rbitape

poL.

PClim

ber

Fruit/

Leav

esFo

odE

12Th

efruitisco

llected

andprep

ared

likea

very

swee

tpum

pkin.T

heleav

esarealso

used

forstew

s.

Verypo

pular.

20�4

0MZN

/unit

depe

ndingon

size

.Man

dioc

amuc

hang

o/19

Cusson

iazu

luen

sisStrey.

WSh

rub

Root

Ven

erea

ldisea

ses

E1

Dig

theroots,take

them

outa

ndcu

tinto

smallp

ieces,pu

tinabo

wlw

ithbo

iling

water,let

stan

d.Drink

water.

Ownus

e.

Ditiu/6

Cyan

thillium

cine

reum

(L.)H.Rob

.W

Shrub

Root

Stom

achache

E6

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tinho

twater

andletthe

mrest

2ho

urs,then

drinkthewater.

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

Mun

hamba

radz

o/68

,Muruc

utu/81

Cyph

ostemmabu

chan

anii

Wild

&R.B.

Drumm.

WClim

ber

Root

Toothache

san

dteethab

scesses

E1

Thepo

tato

ispe

eled

andbo

iled,

thewater

ofthisinfusion

isdrun

k,Italso

works

bypu

ttingthepo

tato

directly

ontheab

scess.

Ownus

e.

Familiar

confl

icts/

Hea

dach

eE

2Trea

thea

dach

esor

whe

nsomepe

ople

have

confl

icts

inthefamily

,drink

the

infusion

oftheroots.

Ownus

e.

Bind

amup

inda

/82

Desmod

ium

velutinu

m(W

illd.)D

C.W

Shrub

Root

Stom

achache

E1

Dig

roots,clea

nan

dcu

tintosm

all

pieces,p

utin

cold

water

anddrink

thiswater

forfive

days.

Ownus

e.

Chipan

gara/43

Dichrostach

yscine

rea(L.)

Wight

&Arn

.W

Herb

Root

Stom

achache

E1

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tin

boiling

water

andletthe

mrest,the

ndrinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Mulala/96

Diospyros

loureiroan

aG.Don

WSh

rub

Root

Teethcare/

clea

ning

E1

Theroot

isex

cava

ted,

clea

ned,

peeled

andscrape

dso

the

fibres

remainlik

eatoothb

rush

andwith

thisbrus

htheteeth.

Inlocalm

arke

ts10

MZN

/ea

chroot.

Mutoa

/4Diplorhyn

chus

cond

ylocarpo

n(M

€ ull.Arg.)Pich

on.

WTree

Exud

ate

Stom

achache

E6

Theba

rkiscu

t,theex

udateisco

llected

anditisdrun

kmixed

withalittlewater.

Ownus

e.

Chinua

nua_

1/2

Dysph

ania

ambrosioides

(L.)

Mosya

kin&Clem

ants.

W/P

Herb

Leav

esCh

ildrenfeve

rE

3Co

llect

theleav

es,m

aceratean

dsp

read

onthebo

dyor

boiling

them

inwater

andgiving

thewater

tothech

ild.

Ownus

e.

Unk

nown_

2/30

Euph

orbiahirtaL.

WHerb

Exud

ate

Cataracts

E1

Thebran

ches

arecu

t,whe

ntheex

udate

comes

outitisdirectly

placed

inthe

eyewithcataract.

Ownus

e.

Hurku

duma/59

Flacou

rtia

indica

(Burm.f.)Merr.

WSh

rub

Fruit

Food

E1

Eata

fter

colle

cting.

Ownus

e.Mutara/14

Garde

niavo

lken

siiK

.Sch

um.

WTree

Root

Stom

achache

E3

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tin

water

andletthe

mrest

2ho

urs,then

drinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Chigaram

aria/60

Gym

nosporia

heteroph

ylla

(Eck

l.&Ze

yh.)Lo

es.

WHerb

Leav

esStom

achache

/mou

thintern

alwou

nds

E1/1

Forstom

achpa

in,the

leav

esarepu

twithsaltan

dcarbon

inco

ldwater

forawhile,

then

drinkthewater.For

wou

ndsin

themou

th,the

leav

esarech

ewed

forawhile

andsp

itou

t.

Ownus

e.

Mun

hagu

rudz

a/61

Hibiscu

ssuratten

sisL.

WClim

ber

Stem

Coug

hM

4Pu

tthe

stalk/stem

inapo

ttobo

ilin

water

and

lets

tand

tolaterdrinkwater.

Ownus

e.

Mum

band

uca/73

Holarrhen

apu

bescen

sG.Don

WSh

rub

Root

Stom

achache

E1

Dig

roots,clea

nan

dcu

tintosm

allp

ieces,

putinco

ldwater

anddrinkthreetimes

ada

y.Ownus

e.

Muc

hururu/20

Hoslund

iaop

posita

Vah

lW

Shrub

Fruit

Food

E2

Eata

fter

colle

cting.

Ownus

e.Ro

otApp

etiteop

ening

E1

Remov

etheroot,w

ashan

dscrape

,put

inwater,w

aitfor

oneho

uran

ddrinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Chiton

gua/29

Hym

enocardiaacidaTu

l.W

Tree

Exud

ate

Milk

ydiarrh

oea

E1

Theba

rkiscu

t,theex

udateisco

llected

and

mixed

withwater

togive

totheba

by.

Ownus

e.

Hikwi,Ba

tata

African

a/1

Hyp

oxishe

merocallid

eaFisch.,

C.A.M

ey.&

Av� e

-Lall.

WHerb

Root

Diabe

tes/Organ

-ism

clea

ning

/Ring-

worm

(Tinea

corpo-

ris)/

E3/16

/7/18

/10

Forstom

acha

che,

diab

etes

andorga

nism

clea

nsing,

thetube

risex

cava

ted,

clea

ned,

cutintopieces,

thesepieces

areleftinto

water

forseve

ralh

ours

orda

ysifpo

ssible.the

water

mus

tbedrun

k.Fo

rRing

worm

“Tinha

”an

dwou

nds,thepo

tato

isscrape

d,theresu

ltingmassisrubb

edin

theaffected

area

.

Noco

mmerce

inMacatebu

tin

Map

utomarke

ts.

Brou

ghttoamajor

distribu

torfrom

Gazaan

dInhe

mba

ne.

(con

tinu

edon

next

page

)

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

323

Table2(Con

tinu

ed)

Loca

lnam

e/VN

Scientificnam

eNaturality

Hab

itUsedpa

rtSp

ecificuse

Ava

ilab

leUR

Prepa

ration

andad

ministration

Trad

ing

stom

achache

/wou

nds.

Suraccud

zi/79

Ipom

oeaPileataRo

xb.

WClim

ber

Root

Stom

achache

E2

Dig

roots,clea

nan

dcu

tintosm

allp

ieces,

putinco

ldwater

mixed

withMun

gurahu

erootsforsomeho

ursan

ddrinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Mufi

so/72

Ipom

oeasp

WClim

ber

Root

Stom

achache

babies

E1

Therootsaredriedan

dmacerated

,the

resu

lting

powde

rispu

tonthepo

rridge

.Ownus

e.

Mun

hanh

a/66

Ipom

oeaveno

sa(D

esr.)

Roem

.&Schu

lt.

WClim

ber

Root

Food

E5

Thepo

tato

isex

tracted,

peeled

andco

oked

likeano

rmal

potato.

Ownus

e.

Mub

awa,Umba

wa/58

Kha

yaan

thothe

ca(W

elw.)C.

DC.

WTree

Root/

Bark

Stom

achache

E3

Dig

root

orcu

tthe

bark,cut

into

smallp

ieces,

boilin

water

andlets

tand

before

drinking

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Muv

e/69

Kigelia

African

a(Lam

.)Be

nth.

WTree

Bark

Largewou

nds

D2

Cutthe

bark

inthena

scen

tand

settingside

ofthesu

n,bo

ilthepieces

inwater

inaclay

pot,

prep

areado

ughwithMap

iraan

dplace

thisdo

ughon

wou

ndspreferab

lywith

leav

esof

Mus

sequ

essa.

Ownus

e.

Muc

hani/41

Lipp

iajava

nica

(Burm.f.)S

pren

g.W

Shrub

Leav

esSe

riou

sHae

morrh

ages

E3

Colle

ctleav

esan

dmacerate,pu

tthismass

intheha

emorrh

agean

dremainstill.

Ownus

e.

Chinha

muc

aca/70

Marga

rettaroseaOliv

.W

Herb

Root

Milk

ydiarrh

oea

onba

bies

D2

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tinwater

andlet

them

rest

fortw

oho

urs,then

drinkthewater.

Commercialized

inlocalm

arke

tan

dne

ighb

ours.

Mus

ara,Pa

nga-

pang

a/7

Millettiastuh

lman

niiT

aub.

WTree

Root

Soap

/wou

nds

trea

tmen

tE

3/4

Digging

,washing

andscraping

theroots,pu

tinwater,

mix

andus

eto

washor

clea

nthewou

nds.

Itbe

camepo

pularin

times

ofwar.

Ownus

e.

Nga

ca,C

acan

a/25

Mom

ordica

balsam

inaL.

WClim

ber

Leav

esFo

odE

23Th

eleav

esareco

nsum

edin

thestew

safterbo

iling

them

.In

localm

arke

ts.

100MZN

/Kg.

Fruit/

Leav

esAntim

alaria/liver

clea

ner

E23

/7Cu

ttwigsin

quan

tity,rolla

ndpu

tinapo

twithwater,b

oilfor

10minutes,let

stan

dan

ddrinkoftenas

tea.

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

100MZN

/Kg.

Muc

hucu

waw

a/10

2Mom

ordica

foetidaSchu

mach.

WClim

ber

Leav

esGon

orrh

oea

M1

Theleav

esareco

llected

,macerated

andpu

tin

cold

water

forafew

hours.Drink

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Moringa

/55

Moringa

ovalifo

liaDinter&A.B

erge

rP

Tree

Leav

esVitam

insan

dvitality.

Multiple

bene

fits.

E8

Colle

cttheleav

esan

ddryun

derthesu

n,macerate.

Thepo

wde

risad

dedin

thesauc

esof

the

mea

ls,smoo

thiesor

juices.

Commercialized

inlocala

ndcentral

marke

ts.

Presen

tation

andprices

may

vary.

Mam

ore,Amorera/87

Morus

alba

L.P

Tree

Root

Ven

erea

ldisea

ses

E1

Therootsmixed

withothe

rsaredriedan

dpu

lverized

,the

powde

risea

tenor

drun

kwithfood

andbe

verage

s.

Ownus

e.

Chinua

nua_

2/53

Ocimum

american

umL.

WHerb

Leav

esMalaria/

Cons

tipa

tion

E1

Formalaria,b

oila

bunc

hof

theleav

esin

water

anddrinkthewater.For

coug

hsimply

chew

theleav

es.

Ownus

e.

Muc

acach

ango

/90

OreosyceAfrican

aHoo

k.F.

WHerb

Root

Stom

achache

/Ven

erea

ldiseases

M1/1

Therootsareex

tracted,

clea

ned,

boile

din

water

andmixed

withothe

rplan

tsmen

tion

edbe

fore.D

rink

thewater

prod

ucto

fthisinfusion

.

Ownus

e.

Cisald

afloresta,

gave

demato/17

Orn

itho

galum

spP

Aga

veLe

aves

Baby

'sbe

llybu

tton

scu

reE

1Th

eleav

esareco

llected

,macerated

and

placed

onthewou

ndsof

thech

ildren'sna

vel.

Ownus

e.

Doa

-han

ga/18

Orn

itho

galum

spW

Herb

Root

Inflam

mations

M2

Thetube

rispa

rtially

boile

d,themacerated

scallio

nisplaced

ontheaffected

parts.

Ownus

e.

Mus

asato/74

Ozoroaob

ovata(O

liv.)

R.Fe

rn.&

A.Fern.

WTree

Leav

esDiarrho

ea,

vomit/Stomach

ache

E1/2

Theleav

esaremacerated

andthen

putin

aglassof

cold

water,strainan

ddrinkthewater.

Ownus

e.

Muc

hacata/44

Parina

ricu

ratellifolia

Benth.

WTree

Fruit

Food

E5

Thefruith

asalmon

dsthat

are

very

nutritious

andtastyfood

.In

localm

arke

ts.

1MZN

/unit.

Mug

rand

era/67

Passifloraed

ulisSims

WClim

ber

Fruit

Food

E3

Eata

fter

colle

cting.

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

Chiw

anga

/77

Pericopsisan

golensis

(Bak

er)M

eeuw

en.

WTree

Bark

Toothache

E1

Pieces

oftheba

rkarecu

tinthena

scen

tand

settingdirectionof

thesu

n,thepieces

arebo

iled,

andthiswater

isus

edto

gargle.

Ownus

e.

Avo

cate,A

guacate/88

Persea

American

aMill.

PTree

Fruit

Food

E5

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

(con

tinu

edon

next

page

)

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

324

Table2(Con

tinu

ed)

Loca

lnam

e/VN

Scientificnam

eNaturality

Hab

itUsedpa

rtSp

ecificuse

Ava

ilab

leUR

Prepa

ration

andad

ministration

Trad

ing

Betw

eenAprilan

dAug

ustthe

reisha

rvesta

nditcanbe

pick

edfrom

thetree

toea

t.Muriand

imba

/83

Pseu

darthr

iasp

WSh

rub

Root

Stom

achache

E1

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,bo

ilin

water

andlets

tand

before

drinking

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Mug

iaba

,Goiab

era/16

Psidium

guajav

aL.

WTree

Fruit/

Leav

esFo

od/Cou

ghE

7/2

Thefruitisea

ten.

Totrea

tthe

coug

h,theleav

esare

cook

edin

hotw

ater,let

stan

dan

ddrinkwater.

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

Mus

unga

nhem

ba/47

Pteleo

psismyrtifolia

(M.A.Law

son)

Engl.&

Diels.

WTree

Root

Tube

rculosis

D1

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tinbo

iling

water

andletthe

mrest,d

rink

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Muc

uram

bira,U

mbila/5

Pterocarpu

san

golensisDC.

WTree

Exud

ate

Ring

worm

(Tinea

corporis)

E11

Cutthe

bark

andwiththeex

udate(w

hich

isred),the

affected

area

isrubb

edon

ceada

yfor3�

4da

ys.

Inlocalm

arke

ts.

Chizim

bue/38

Rhoicissus

revo

iliiP

lanc

h.W

Clim

ber

Root

Sexu

alvitality/

stom

achache

E1/1

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tinbo

iling

water

andletthe

mrest,d

rink

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Mug

arap

achu

ru/78

Rhus

dentataTh

unb.

WSh

rub

Root

Stom

achache

E2

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,bo

ilin

water

andlets

tand

before

drinking

thewater.

Ownus

e.

Mufuta/98

Ricinu

scommun

isL.

WSh

rub

Seed

Folk

med

icine

E2

Anoilisex

tractedfrom

theseed

s.Th

isoilisus

edin

trad

itiona

lhea

lingto

applytheremed

iesin

crea

msor

ointmen

ts.

Ownus

e.

Fruit

Food

E2

Theseed

sareco

nsum

edas

almon

ds.

Ownus

e.Le

aves

Bruises

E1

Themacerated

leav

esareus

edto

massage

area

swithbruises.

Ownus

e.Mud

odod

o/28

Rothman

niafische

ri(K

.Sch

um.)Obe

rm.

WSh

rub

Fruit

Food

E6

Eata

fter

colle

cting.

Ownus

e.Mud

angu

a,Mafou

rera/8

Sclerocaryabirrea

subs

p.caffra

(Son

d.)K

okwaro

WTree

Fruit

Food

E8

Betw

eenSe

ptem

beran

dJanu

arypick

upan

dea

t.Itisalso

possible

toprod

ucewinefrom

it.

Inlocalm

arke

ts,

20MZN

/cup

.Mpu

pu/36

Secu

rida

calong

iped

uncu

lata

Fresen

.W

Tree

Root

Soap

E8

Dig

roots,scrape

andpu

tinwater.W

iththissoap

ywater

youcanwashyo

urclothe

sor

batheyo

urbo

dy.

Verylittle

commercialization.

Mud

embe

rembe

,Dem

berembe

/64

Senn

ape

tersiana

(Bolle)L

ock

WSh

rub

Root

Strong

diarrh

oea

E5

Dig

roots,cu

tintosm

allp

ieces,pu

tinwater

andletthe

mrest

foron

eho

ur,d

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H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

325

Table 2 (Continued)

Local name/VN Scientific name Naturality Habit Used part Specific use Available UR Preparation and administration Trading

Mutengamucuru/80 Zanha Africana (Radlk.) Exell W Tree Bark Headache M 1 A piece of the bark is cut, boiled in water, andnebulisations are made with the resulting steam.

Own use.

Mutungururu/75 Zingiber officinale Roscoe W Herb Fruit Food D 1 The fruit is plucked, opened and eaten inside. Own use.Musawe/56 Ziziphus sp W/P Tree Fruit Food E 1 Eat after collecting. In local markets.

20MZN/cup.Root Tooth ache E 1 Dig the root, cut into small pieces, boil in water

and with that water gargle.Own use.

Checacheca/76 Unidentified W Herb Root/Bark Pain afterchildbirth

E 1 Dig roots or cut the bark, cut into small pieces,boil in water and let stand before drinking the water.

Own use.

Chifiti/101 Unidentified W Tree Leaves Dysentery /

bloodydiarrhoea

E 1/2 The leaves are collected and boiled. Wateris drunk until the person's health improves.

Own use.

Gambacamba/84 Unidentified W Herb Root Breathingproblems/Parasites

E 1/1 Mixed with Gergelim, the patient is fed. For wormsin children, it is mixed with Mupambagona and Mungurahue.

Own use.

Maguruzamba,/48 Unidentified W Climber Root Food E 14 The tuber is removed, prepared and cooked as potato. Own use.Mugaranjerere/26 Unidentified W Tree Root Stomachache/

Venerealdiseases

M 2/1 Dig roots, cut into small pieces, put into boilingwater and let them rest, drink the water.

Own use.

Mungurahue/21 Unidentified W Climber Root Stomachache E 4 Dig roots, cut into small pieces, put in water forsome hours and then drink the water.

Own use.

Musuanzua/95 Unidentified W Tree Fruit Food M 1 Eat after collecting. Own use.Muungo/50 Unidentified W Climber Fruit Food E 5 Eat after collecting. Own use.Nungumira/22 Unidentified W Herb Leaves High tension E 12 The leaves are boiled in water, then allowed

to rest before drinking the water.In local markets,

10�20 MZN/50 gr.Puzua/24 Unidentified W Climber Root Venereal diseases E 2 Dig roots, cut into small pieces, put

in water for some hoursand drink the water.

Own use.

Choa/� Unidentified W Mushroom Mushroom Food M 6 It is collected fromthe forestand preparedwith food,usually saladsor stews.

In local markets,20 MZN/150 gr.

Dari, Cogumelo/� Unidentified W Mushroom Mushroom Food D 20 It is collected fromthe forestand preparedwith food,usually saladsor stews.

Very popularcommercialization15�20 MZN/unit.

Naturality = whether the plant grows wild or cultivated, Wild =W, Planted = P, Used part = physical component used of the plant, VN = voucher sample number, Available = level of difficulty to find it in the area of study,Easy = E, Difficult = D, Moderate =M, UR = use reports, MZN = Metecais.

H.A

paricio,I.Hedberg,S.Bandeira

etal.South

African

JournalofBotany139

(2021)318�

328

326

Table 3Commercialized species.

Common name Scientific name Way of commercialization Availability

Wild Ginger Mondia whitei Sold raw, according to its weight. According to stand attend-ants the best quality ginger comes from Manica Province.

Found in local and central markets.

Pirri pirri Capsicum frutescens Extremely popular, sold in a wide variety of products such asfresh, dried, pulverized, as cream, oil, and preserved withsyrup or mixed with green mango and pepper.

Found in local and central markets.

Moringa Moringa sp Extremely popular, sold mostly dried or pulverized. Found sparsely in local markets and in large amounts at cen-tral markets.

Malambe Adansonia digitata Offered as fresh fruit, but mostly as extracted seeds. InMaputo it was reported to come exclusively from Manicaand Gaza provinces.

At local level, this plant has not commercialization tradition. Itwas barely found in local markets at Macate and Chimoio,whereas in central markets it was widely available.

Batata Africana Hypoxis hemerocallidea Commonly known and popular as medicinal product. Sold asfresh tuber in all the stands with medicinal plants.

In local markets of Macate and Chimoio it was barely seen,whereas in central markets it was moderately available.reported to be brought by personal that collects agriculturalproducts in the Moamba area near Maputo and fromManica province due to the fertility of these regions.

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

versatile species with five different reported medicinal uses. It is oneof the most reported and used species (UR = 54 and FC = 20) and themost culturally significant (CI = 2.16, RI = 1.00), and as such, this plantis widely known and collected. Momordica balsamina, well known asfood source “carril” and believed to be rather efficient in the treat-ment of malaria symptoms, is quite versatile with three differentreported uses. It is also one of the most reported and used species(UR = 53 and FC = 23) and the second in cultural significance(CI = 2.12, RI = 0.80). With good versatility, Adansonia digitata,presents three reported uses but a considerably lower UR=26, FC = 13and CI=1.04.

It is important to highlight the outstanding results of Hypoxishemerocallidea, which from the medicinal perspective, was the mostversatile of all species, with outstanding indices values and consensusabout its benefits among the informants. It could be considered as apromising species for an alternative livelihood strategy, as well as astrong candidate for further research on its bioactive compositionand properties for medicinal purposes. Other plant species withmedicinal or alimentary benefits such as Momordica balsamina andAdansonia digitata, also have solid indices values and use consensus.

If not individually, the last mentioned species could be cultivatedtogether with species that serve as food and have a stabilised marketsuch as Capsicum frutescens, Mondia whitei or Moringa sp. andnative tree species such as Khaya anthotheca, Annona senegalensis,Millettia stuhlmannii, Bobgunnia madagascariensis, Pterocarpusangolensis and/or Strychnos madagascariensis in mixed and com-pound agroforestry systems. In the future, associated in communitycooperatives, the inhabitants of this region could implement theagroforestry systems in a small and medium scale. This, in combina-tion with a semi-industrialisation project for the NTFPs, could helpguarantee food security, enhance economic development, improvethe quality of life of the inhabitants and help to protect the diversityof the flora, counterbalancing the intensive agricultural labour thathas, without hindrance, developed here.

3.4. Informants knowledge

With an average age of 57.3 § 13,5 years, the majority of theinformants were knowledgeable people: heads of families with a cer-tain degree of interest in the use of plants. The “curandeiros” and“profeta” did not share a considerable quantitative difference inknowledge in comparison with other informants. However, morespecific plant uses were mentioned by them. Undoubtedly theirknowledge is wider, but they were cautious of openly sharing moreof their knowledge. As a fact and in general, the villagers who remainin their community throughout their lives and remain estranged

327

from western medicine or do not often visit cities, show more inter-est in traditional knowledge transmission.

Each informant knew on average 21.6 (min 12, max 33) species.Thirty-nine species (37%) were each reported by only one informant;33% (35 species) by two-five informants and 21.7% (23 species) by6�15 informants. Nine species (8.5% of the total) were reported bymore than 15 informants. A larger number of informants sharedknowledge and a certain level of consensus on species and their uses,whereas a smaller group of informants held reduced or erraticknowledge. This could be attributed to the age and role of the inform-ants as family heads. They are the ones who hold the responsibly offinding the way to secure the provision of food and also often need tocope with common ailments within the family group members, a sit-uation that encourages them to acquire and hold some knowledgeabout plants, their uses and benefits.

3.5. Markets situation

The visit to the markets was an exploratory approach to look overand identify the plant products from the forest that are commonlytraded, their popularity, potential and trading prices. The local mar-ket at Macate district main trading point is rather small (15�20 trad-ers), and most of the products that were found are agriculturalproducts. Chimoio’s local markets displayed a wider variety, not onlyof food products, but also of medicinal plants.

Centralised markets like “Bazar da Baixa” and “Mercado Janet” inMaputo were also visited. The important commercialised species inthe different stands are presented in Table 3, they are mentioned inpriority order according to what was reported in the markets. Trad-ing prices (when reported) are presented in Table 2.

Despite their popularity, still incipient but potential market andtrade was observed for Adansonia digitata and Hypoxis hemerocalli-dea. This situation could be explained as a combination of differentaspects: a) The demand is still low as a result of ignorance of the ben-efits of the species; b) availability of these plants could be limited; c)durability. Parts of fresh plants are perishable and are more suscepti-ble to degradation during transportation and storage.

4. Conclusions

Botanical knowledge, cultural value, utilisation and managementpractices of 106 plant species is documented for Nhamacoa area dis-trict of Macate in Manica, Mozambique. The quantitative processingrevealed that most of the species are valued as source of food. A widerange of species with medicinal uses was acknowledged by a consid-erable number of informants, which reflects a good level of consensus

H. Aparicio, I. Hedberg, S. Bandeira et al. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318�328

about useful species and their specific benefits. This is a rather posi-tive indicator regarding the consistency and validity of the findings.

Given their versatility, cultural ranking, consensus on their bene-fits and potential as market products, the species Hypoxis hemerocal-lidea, Adansonia digitata, and Momordica balsamina have beenidentified as species with potential as a livelihood alternative forinhabitants of this region. In addition, with solid quantitave indicesranking and unanimously mentioned as effective in treating differentailments, Cassia afrofistula, Sterculia quinqueloba, Bobgunnia mada-gascariensis and the unidentified “chifiti” and “nungumira” are rec-ommended for possible future investigations of their biochemicalcontent or pharmacological properties.

The considerable number of species and uses reported are indica-tors of the dependency of communities in the studied area on non-timber forest products as sources of food and health care. This alsomeans that, even though it is under serious threat, local ethnobotani-cal knowledge has managed to survive among these communities.The important role of the remains from dense woodlands and theirNTFPs, confirm the immense value of these relicts which should beconsidered areas of priority for conservation.

Declarations

List of abbreviations:NTFP: Non-timber forest productsEthics approval and consent to participate: The study did not

involve any animal experiments or the export of plant material. Priorinformed consent was obtained from study participants.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.Availability of data and materials: No datasets were deposited in

repositories.Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no

known competing financial interests or personal relationships thatcould have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Funding: This study was financed in part by a stipend from Ellenoch Tage Westins Stiftelsen.

Authors' contributions

Hainner Aparicio: Field work planning, data collection, ethnobo-tanic survey, voucher samples collection and processing, visits tomarkets, data structuring and processing, manuscript elaborationediting and formatting.

Abdolbaset Ghorbani: Supervision, guidance and institutionallogistics.

Inga Hedberg: Supervision, guidance and institutional logistics.Salomao Bandeira: Voucher sample’s identification.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the local informants who shared theirknowledge with us, especially to Macate’s community leader Mr.Paulo Tomussene for his help and co-operation throughout the study.Associacao Amigos da Floresta de Mocambique NGO is acknowledgedfor providing fieldwork logistics. We thank the two anonymousreviewers for their careful reading of the manuscript and suggestionswhich have greatly improved the paper. To Mr. John Burrows for hisvaluable help with botanical identification of some specimens andMrs. Tara Ratnayake for proofreading the manuscript to English lan-guage.

328

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