Medicinal Plants of Namibia | Page 3

Abstract(((
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This!field!guide!covering!20!plants!native!to!Namibia,!located!between!Angola!and!
South!Africa!on!the!Atlantic!Coast,!with!medicinal!uses!by!indigenous!tribes,!was!
written!to!help!preserve!the!traditional!knowledge!that!is!presently!passed!orally!
from!generation!to!generation.!!As!indigenous!tribes!transition!from!a!nomadic,!
pastoralist!lifestyle!this!traditional!knowledge!is!at!risk!of!being!lost.!!Thus,!the!
purpose!of!this!field!guide!is!to!explain!the!medicinal!uses!of!20!selected!plants!by!
the!indigenous!tribes!of!Namibia!and!present!botanical!and!ecological!information!
about!these!plants.!!It!is!important!for!members!of!the!scientific!community!to!help!
preserve!this!knowledge!and!this!field!guide!will!help!in!this!by!consolidating!
research.!!The!Namibian!tribes!use!many!plants,!but!only!20!are!covered!in!this!field!
guide!because!these!are!the!ones!that!have!been!seen!and!documented!by!the!
author,!and!for!which!information!is!available!from!multiple!sources.!!The!format!
will!include!each!plant!organized!alphabetically!by!genus!and!accompanied!by!
photographs!taken!by!the!author.!!The!order!of!information!for!each!entry!will!
follow:!Plant:!Genus&species,!Family,!Common!names,!Range,!Diagnostic!
characteristics,!Governmental!protection!status,!and!Indigenous!medicinal!uses.!!!!!!!!
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