Many common indigenous plants have medicinal properties, and many people rely on herbal medicines for health care, visiting traditional healers such as songomas, inyangas and Rastafarians. Indigenous plants have been used by healers to treat many different health problems for centuries.  

 

It is important to note that incorrect use or dosage of medicinal plants can be dangerous, and can even lead to death. Herbal medicines should be taken only under direction of an experienced practitioner.

 

It’s also important to remember that plants growing in the wild are protected by law and it is illegal to pick them without an official permit. But the good news is most of them are very easy to grow in your own garden!   Some healing plants and their uses:

 

ARTEMESIA AFRA wild wormwood (Eng), Lengana (Pedi & S Sotho), Umhlonyane (Xhosa), wilde als (Afr), Mhlanyane (Zulu)

Where it grows: in rocky mountainous areas of South Africa.

Uses:  This is one of the most popular medicinal plants in southern Africa. For colds, colic, heartburn, flatulence, croup and gout, drink a tea made of 5g of fresh leaves steeped in boiling water for five minutes and strained. To make a bath lotion, add 30-40g of fresh leaves to 2 litres of boiling water. Leave for an hour or two, strain and bottle. Use in bath water to ease haemorrhoids, measles, fever, sores and wounds, rashes, bites and stings. 

Growing tips: Artemesia is hardy and easy to grow. Plant it in a sunny position in well-drained, well-composted soil. Cut back severely in July or August. Roots easily from cuttings. 

 

BULBINE FRUTESCENS snake flower/burn jelly plant (Eng), khomo-ya-ntsukammele (Sotho), intelezi (Xhosa, Zulu), balsam kopiena, geel katstert (Afr)

Where it grows Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces

Uses Bulbine is a popular rockery plant. It is also one of nature’s finest medicinal plants. The fresh leaves produce a soothing jelly-like juice that is good for burns, rashes, blisters, insect bites, sunburn, cracked lips and skin, cold sores, acne and mouth ulcers.

Growing tips This is an excellent drought, heat and frost-resistant plant that spreads quickly. Plant in well-drained soil containing compost. It can be grown from seed or division of the clump during spring. 

 

COTYLEDON ORBICULATA pig’s ear (Eng), seredile (Sotho), imphewula (Xhosa), intelezi (Zulu), plakkie (Afr)

Where it grows: in between rocks and scrub in grassland in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, W and E Cape, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Uses: The fleshy part of the leaf is used to soften and remove hard corns and warts. In the Willowmore district in the Eastern Cape the heated leaf is used as a pultice for boils and other surface inflammations, as well as earache.  Growing tips: This is an ideal plant for rockeries as it needs a sunny position. Do not water often. The Cape Province species must be watered well in winter and little during summer. The plant is reproduced easily by planting pieces of the stem in the ground. 

 

HELICHRYSUM PETIOLARE silver bush (Eng), hotnotskooigoed (Afr)

Where it grows: it is found in the drier inland parts of the Western and Eastern Cape.

Uses: The leaves and flowers were used a great deal as bedding by the Khoi people. They also used the leaves to make a refreshing, health-giving tea. A cup of boiling water is added to quarter of a cup of fresh leaves, left to draw for three to five minutes, strained and drunk. This tea was taken to cure backache, kidney and heart disease. The Rastafarians make an infusion with a few fresh leaves (about 5g) to a cup of boiling water, which is left for three to five minutes, strained and sipped. This is used to treat asthma, chest problems, high blood pressure, painful menstruation and stress. You can also make a pleasant-smelling insect repellant by burning a mixture of Helichrysum and wilde als.

Growing tips: It must be planted in well-drained soil mixed with sand. It prefers sun but can be grown in partial shade. Propagate from cuttings or from seed sown in March.  

 

LEONOTIS LEONURUS wild dagga/lion’s ear/lion’s tail (Eng), umfincafincane (Xhosa), umunyane (Zulu) , lebake (Sotho), klipdagga/wilde dagga (Afr)

Where it grows: in all the Cape provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo

Uses: An infusion of two to three cups of leaves, stems and flowers in one litre of boiling water is left to draw and cool. It is added to bathwater to relieve muscular pain, itchy skin and eczema. It can also be dabbed onto sores, boils, bites, bee stings and even scorpion stings and snake bites.

Growing tips It is easy to grow and needs a warm, sunny position in light, well-drained soil. Cut back after winter. It is easy to propagate by dividing the woody rootstock, from cuttings or from seeds sown in September. 

 

TULBAGHIA VIOLACEA wild garlic (Eng), icinisini (Zulu), mothebe (Sotho), wilde knoffel (Afr)

Where it grows: This is a drought-resistant plant from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Zimbabwe

Uses: In KwaZulu-Natal, the leaves and flowers are used as spinach and as a hot, peppery seasoning with meat and potatoes. It is also planted around homes as a snake repellant. It can be planted around the edges of a garden as a mole and insect repellant. The bulbs are used as a remedy for tuberculosis and to destroy intestinal worms. An extract of the entire plant has been shown to combat several types of bacteria. An infusion is made by soaking the bulb and leaves in water for a day or so. The whole body is washed with this to relieve rheumatism and arthritis, and to bring down fever. To clear up coughs, colds and flu, add a bulb to boiling water and drink. 

Growing tips: Grows easily in most soils. Propagate by dividing larger clumps, then leave the new clumps undisturbed for as long as possible.