Medicinal Plants of Namibia | Page 4

Introduction!!
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“To(appreciate(an(area(fully,(one(must(get(to(know(and(understand(it,(and(
nowhere(is(this(truer(than(in(a(desert(environment.((At(first(glance(barren,(
even(hostile,(the(desert(does(not(reveal(its(secrets(to(the(casual(observer.”!
~Mary!Seely!in!The&Namib:&Natural&History&of&an&Ancient&Desert38&&
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The!purpose!of!this!field!guide!is!to!explain!the!medicinal!uses!of!selected!plants!by!
the!indigenous!tribes!of!Namibia!and!present!botanical!and!ecological!information!
about!these!plants.!!The!transition!from!nomadic,!pastoralist!lifestyle!to!a!more!
technologically!inclined!one!can!put!traditional!knowledge!at!risk.!!To!prevent!
traditional!knowledge!from!being!lost!it!is!important!for!members!of!the!scientific!
community!to!preserve!knowledge,!especially!in!rural!areas,!for!the!sake!of!
biodiversity.!!Village!doctors,!elders,!and!other!members!of!the!Namibian!traditional!
communities!were!once!able!to!identify!plants,!and!know!their!locations,!uses,!and!
methods!of!preparation30.!!Many!in!the!scientific!community!have!already!begun!to!
preserve!this!knowledge.!!Programs!such!as!the!Namibian!Tree!Atlas!Program,!the!
Floristic!Namibian!Survey,!the!Spatial!and!Finite!Differentiation!of!Plants!in!the!
Central!Namib,!SEPASAL,!and!NAMSPLACE!Project!have!contributed!to!information!
about!the!plant!base!of!Namibia13,!14,!21,!23,!40.!!The!problem!is!not!research!or!
consolidating!research,!but!in!consolidating!the!knowledge.!!Since!the!relevant!
research!concerning!traditional!medicinal!plant!remedies!in!Namibia!is!not!
consolidated,!I!wish!to!help!preserve!that!knowledge!through!this!field!guide.!!I!
encourage!you!to!take!this!field!guide,!while!studying!the!ecology!of!the!Namibian!
landscape,!to!explore!and!discover!what!these!plants!look!like,!many!of!them!found!
in!no!other!place!in!the!world,!and!how!they!are!used!by!some!of!the!people!who!
rely!on!them.!!
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Namibia!is!located!between!Angola!and!South!Africa!on!the!Atlantic!Coast.!!Rainfall!
across!the!country!varies!drastically,!increasing!from!0!mm!in!the!southwest!in!the!
Namib!Desert!to!600!mm!to!the!northeast!in!the!Caprivi!Strip24.!!Rainfall!is!quite!
unpredictable!as!marked!dry!periods!from!May!to!October!cause!intense!drought!
across!various!biomes!in!the!country16,!18.!!In!some!regions!of!Namibia,!there!has!not!
been!rainfall!in!almost!100!years16.!!In!Namibia,!convergent!evolution!promotes!
plants!that!respond!to!the!lack!of!water!in!ways!that!are!similar!to!the!plants!in!arid!
and!semiSarid!regions!around!the!world.!!Plants!in!this!environment!have!secondary!
metabolites!to!defend!themselves!from!a!harsh!arid!environment!that!can!also!be!
used!to!treat!ailments.!
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The!Damara/Nama!live!in!central!Namibia49.!!It!has!been!proposed!that!the!Damara!
were!the!first!to!migrate!from!West!Africa!to!Namibia!before!2000!B.C.15.!!Located!
just!north!of!the!capital!Windhoek,!they!have!an!extensive!knowledge!of!herbal!
medicine49.!!It!has!been!postulated!that!the!Damara!and!San!are!related,!although!it!
is!not!clear!which!tribe!is!ancestral!especially!since!historically!the!Damara!have!
been!settling!in!scattered!areas!across!the!country15,!18.!!!
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