Eswatini's Flora - siSwati Names and Uses
Compiled by Chris Long, © December 2005
SiSwati names and uses, arranged by alphabetically by botanical name:
| Dalbergia | |
| armata (Thorny Rope) licobhe, umcobhe, | |
| Household: | Branchlets for basketry & calf muzzles |
| melanoxylon (Zebra Wood) licobhe, | |
| Timber: | Timber for construction. Useful wood but pieces often too small. |
| Medicinal: | Roots & bark prepared to treat toothache |
| obovata (Climbing Flatbean) umzungulu, | |
| Cultural: | Roots provide Zulu love charm. Ancestral communication aid. |
| Household: | Stems for fishing baskets, handicrafts, stools & sticks. Bark for twine. |
| Medicinal: | Bark preparation for sore mouths & stomachs in babies. Cures boils. |
| Dolichos | |
| angustifolius | |
| Food: | Roots are eaten in Lesotho. |
| Drypetes | |
| arguta (Water Ironplum) umkaswane, umkhashwane, | |
| Household: | Hard wood good for sticks and hut building. |
| Food: | Edible fruit can also be used to make an intoxicating liquor. |
| gerrardii (Forest Ironplum) umhlwakela, umhlwakele, | |
| Honey: | Nectar source for bees. |
| Household: | Hard, white wood used for sticks. |
| Food: | Edible fruit. |
| var. gerrardii | |
| mossambicensis | |
| Food: | Edible fruit |
| Dalechampia | |
| capensis (Wild Hop) imbabatane, | |
| Medicinal: | Medicinal |
| Deinbollia | |
| oblongifolia (Dune Soapberry) igololenkawu, intisamasimu, iphengulula, iqinisamasimu, maqinisa, umuthiwezi-thutha, | |
| Household: | Seeds used for making soap. |
| Medicinal: | Root preparation used for stomach problems. Bark for headaches. |
| Food: | Leaves can be eaten as spinach. Fruit may be a famine food. |
| Dodonaea | |
| viscosa (Common Sand Olive) iheji, liheji, | |
| Timber: | Fencing |
| Soil Conservation: | Sometimes used to consolidate sand and reclaim marshes |
| Medicinal: | Root infusion for common cold. Leaf decoction for rheumatism. |
| Food: | Seeds are edible. |
| Dombeya umhlonyana, | |
| burgessiae (Pink Wild Pear) libundza, | |
| Household: | Handicrafts. Fruit baskets & thatching twine made from bark fibre. |
| cymosa (Smooth Dombeya) licibo, umwuwane, | |
| Timber: | Trunk and branches used for construction. |
| Household: | Wood used for spear shafts & ornaments. |
| pulchra (Silver Dombeya) libuka, libundza, | |
| Household: | Handicrafts. Fruit baskets made from bark fibre |
| Medicinal: | Leaves & stem for glaucoma. Roots for sexual immaturity. |
| rotundifolia (Common Wild Pear) nhliziyo, nhliziyonkhulu, umbikanyaka, umuwane, umwane, umwuwane, | |
| Timber: | Wood is used for mine props, poles & timber. |
| Cultural: | To cleanse body of evil spirits. |
| Household: | Inner bark used for twine. Wood for furniture, bows & implement handles |
| Medicinal: | Bark treats intestinal ulcers, vomiting and fainting. Leaves for headaches. Roots for a general purgative. Medicinal for heart problems. |
| Food: | Edible fruits. |
| var. rotundifolia | |
| Dovyalis emabambane, | |
| caffra (Kei-apple) ntapane, sangongongo, | |
| Cultural: | Pegs reinforce hut protection given by Gardenia cornuta & Vagueria spp. |
| Fodder: | Fodder - useful tree for stock or game farms. |
| Food: | Edible fruit. Excellent jams & jellies. High vitamin C content. |
| lucida (Glossy Sour Berry) ingcengane, sangongongo, umnyazuma, | |
| Medicinal: | Leaves used to treat high blood pressure and diabetes. |
| Food: | Edible fruit but sour. |
| rhamnoides (Common Sourberry) mabambana, umabambambane, umnyazuma, | |
| Food: | Tasty edible fruit also used for preserves and wine. |
| zeyheri (Wild Apricot) mabambana, umabambane, umnyazuma, | |
| Food: | Edible but sour fruit eaten raw or made into a jelly. |
| Dais | |
| cotinifolia (Pompom Tree) pum, pum pum, | |
| cotinifolia (Pompon Tree) intfocwane, | |
| Dyes: | Bark contains tannin. |
| Firewood: | Firewood |
| Household: | Bark plaited to make strong ropes. |
| Medicinal: | Medicinal. Wide variety of uses. |
| Dissotis | |
| canescens (Ordeal Bean) dinganezwe, dzinganezwe, erkhambi lemfula, likhambi lemfula, sichobochobo, | |
| Medicinal: | Medicinal. Roots for dysentary, hangovers & heartburn. |
| Food: | Eaten as a vegetable as a famine food |
| princeps (Royal Dissotis) sichobochobo, umpongamponga, | |
| Medicinal: | Roots are medicinal for dysentary. |
| Food: | Eaten as a vegetable as a famine food |
| var. candolleana | |
| var. princeps | |
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