Table 1 Characteristics of the nine plants of Fabaceae family investigated
Name of plant | Common names | Synonyms | Parts used | Traditional or other uses | Voucher number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baphia racemosa (Hochst) Baker. | Violet pea, Natal camwood (Eng.); boskamhout (Afr.); Tshuphu (isiXhosa); Fithi (Zulu) | Bracteolaria racemosa Hochst. | Leaves | Source of food for larvae of the blue-spotted charaxes. Parrots feed on young seeds [9]. | PMDN 397 |
Crotalaria capensis Jacq. | Cape rattle-pod, Cape laburnum (Eng.); Kaapse klapperpeul (Afr.); Bukheshezane (Zulu) | - | Flowers | Decorative horticultural value [10]. | PMDN 318 |
Dalbergia nitidula Baker | Glossy flat-bean (English) Mudima (Shona) Murima (Shona) Purple-wood dalbergia (English) | Dalbergia dekindtiana Harms | Roots | For some species in this genus, a paste of charred and powdered stems mixed with water is used for sore mouths in infants [11]. | PMDN 367 |
Erythrina caffra Thunb. | Coast coral tree (Eng.); kuskoraalboom (Afr.); umsinsi (Zulu); umsintsi (Xhosa) | Erythrina viarium Tod. | Bark, leaves, roots | Sores, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, wounds, eardrops for earache, sprains [11]. | PMDN 280 |
Indigofera cylindrica | Natal Camwood (Eng.) Natal Camwood | Indigofera frutescens Indigofera jucunda Schrire | - | Plants of the genus are used for infertility, menstrual cramps, toothbrushes, mouthwash [12]. | PMDN 178 |
Lonchocarpus nelsii (Schinz) Heering & Grimme | Apple-leaf lance-pod, Kalahari apple-leaf, Kalahari lance-pod (Eng.) | Dalbergia nelsii, Philenoptera nelsii (Schinz) Schrire | - | Plants of the genus are used as a laxative, for treating convulsion in infants, and for minor skin trouble [13]. | PMDN 612 |
Podalyria calyptrata (Retz.) Willd. | Sweetpea bush, large pink keurtjie, water blossom-pea (Eng.); keur, keurtjie, keurblom, ertjiebos, waterkeurtjie (Afr.) | Podalyria kunthii Walp., Podalyria lanceolata (E. Mey.) Benth. | - | Purely decorative as no records of other uses could be traced. | PMDN 759 |
Virgilia divaricata Adamson. | Blossom tree (Eng.); keurboom (Afr.) | - | - | Transparent gum exudate from the bark is used as a substitute for starch [14]. | PMDN 192 |
Xylia torreana Brenan | Hairy sand ash, Zambezi ash (Eng.) | Xylia africana sensu Torre | - | No information on tradition use found | PMDN159 |