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3.2.13 Scientific name : Pentanisia prunelloides (Klotzsch ex Eckl. & Zeyh.)
Walp
Zulu name : Icishamlilo
Common name : Wild verbena
Figure 3.16 Flowering stages of Pentanisia prunelloides.
(www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/pentanprunel.htm).
Botanical description
This plant is an erect, perennial herb of about 600 mm, with stout, hairy stems
sprouting from a woody rootstock. The leaves, which have no petioles (leaf stalks),
are very variable, but are usually ovate with wavy margins. The tubular blue or lilac
flowers are in dense heads at the end of the stems. Flowering occurs in early
summer, from August to January. The plants are long-lived and are dormant in the
winter months (Johnson, 2004).
Distribution
It is widespread in grassland throughout southern Africa, from Eastern Cape to
Tanzania, at altitudes from sea level up to 1980 m. It grows in well-drained soils, in
full sunlight, and tolerates frost (Pooley, 1998).
Conservation status
No information on its conservation status.
Medicinal uses
Its tuberous roots and leaves are used extensively in traditional medicine to treat a
wide range of ailments. Root decoctions are taken orally or as enemas, and are also
applied externally for burns, swellings, rheumatism, heartburn, vomiting, fever,
toothache, tuberculosis, snakebite and haemorrhoids. It is taken by pregnant women
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