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ECO HUB - African ginger

As gardeners sometimes our role includes that of conservation.
We have the power as consumers of plants sold by nurseries or individuals, to
prevent endangered plants from becoming more so, or to create such a demand
that those plants are micropropagated on a large scale sometimes saving plant
populations in the wild. Luckily, this applies to African ginger, Siphonochilus aethiopicus
one of the most important medicinal plants in sub-Saharan Africa, found bordering
Botswana in the Limpopo region of South Africa, traded to the brink of extinction
and still on the critically endangered list, it is now being rapidly propagated and sold
around the world, eBay included.
Siphonochilus aethiopicus is a forest floor plant with spindle-shaped rhizomatous roots that
exude a unique and distinctive aroma. It produces deciduous leaves that develop in the
spring season from the underground rhizome, and has attractive flowers, that are delicately
scented, borne at ground level and are relatively short-lived, usually lasting for one day.

It belongs to the Ginger family well-known for its medicinal properties, and is used
for treating a variety of respiratory ailments, and can play significant roles in general
well-being and poverty alleviation through sales of plant materials for income generation
and sustainable livelihoods. Both the rhizomes and roots of African ginger have potent
medicinal properties with similar essential oil composition (Viljoen et al., 2002). The
fresh rhizomes have a strong ginger smell and are chewed to clear nasal passages, and
for asthma, coughs, flu and colds. As S. aethiopicus is one of the most important medicinal
plants in South Africa, and one of the 8 most traded plants in traditional medicine,
studies have attempted to explain the basis of the ethnomedicinal use of the rhizomes
and roots for coughs, colds, asthma, headache, candida and malaria. According to such
studies the plant does have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and bronchodilatory effects
in support of its traditional use.

As gardeners this gives us a good reason to add it to our gardens, an attractive
indigenous plant that is severely endangered in the wild, with medicinal and commercial
benefits. Text and photos (bottom left edited) by S.C

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