In South Africa, many bulb species are used extensively for traditional medicine by a diverse range of cultures. They are used in a wide variety of practices, including birth attendants, prophesy, spiritual healing and medicine. Where our western medicine diagnoses the disease and directly treats the problem, African traditional healers will usually seek to understand why the patient became ill and administer a treatment for the perceived cause. There are an estimated 200 000 traditional healers in South Africa, and up to 60% of South Africans consult these healers. Here are some of our favourite medicinal bulbs and what they are used for.
Boophane disticha, also known as the bushman poison bulb, has many traditional uses. The dry outer scales of the bulb are used as a dressing after circumcision; these scales are also boiled and applied to septic wounds. Weak decoctions on the bulb scales are administered by mouth or as an enema for various complaints such as headaches, stomach pain and eye conditions. In some areas of the karoo it’s believed that sleeping on a mattress filled with bulb scales will relieve hysteria and insomnia. High doses induce visual hallucinations which are sometimes used for divination. Bushman once used the poison from the bulb for their arrows during hunts.
Bowiea volubilis, also known as the climbing potato, is used to treat a variety of ailments. A hot water extract of roasted bulb is taken as a purgative, as well as a remedy for ascites, sterility and bladder complaints. The fresh bulb is taken for oedema (dropsy) and infertility in women. The fresh juice may be rubbed into the skin of a sick person or a decoction applied as a lotion for sore eyes.
Clivia miniata, one of the most attractive and popular horticultural species, is also an important plant in traditional medicine. The whole plant is used, including the rhizome, roots and leaves. The rhizome is used by the Zulu people to treat fever. The whole plant is used to help with child birth and to hasten parturition. The rhizome is also used as a snake-bite remedy, and it is claimed to relieve pain.
Eucomis autumnalis, the pineapple lily, is known as umathunga in traditional medicine. A bulb decoction is used for lower backache, to assist in post-operative recovery and to aid in the healing of fractures. It’s also used for a wide variety of other ailments, including urinary disease, stomach ache, fevers, hangovers, syphilis and to aid childbirth. The decoctions of the bulb are usually administered as enemas.
Gethyllis species, commonly known as koekemakranka are perhaps the most interesting and ornamentally popular of all SA bulbs. But beyond their spirals and frills, they are also very popular traditionally in the cape. Koekemakranka brandy is an early Cape remedy for colic and indigestion. The edible aromatic fruit was highly valued to perfume rooms and linen. The success of the very special occasion when children would gather the fruit, was primarily reliant on a good sense of smell. Koekemakrana is one of the only Khoi words still in use today.
