Medicinal Plants of Namibia

the!most!frequently!used!medicinal!plants!in!the!region!by!the!Kwanyama35.!!In!fact,! their!use!of!medicinal!plants!in!the!area—both!diverse!and!innovative—seems!to!be! the!best!documented!by!ethnobotanists!of!all!the!Nambian!tribes35.!!In!addition,! since!the!19th!century!they!have!been!raising!cattle4.!!! ! The!Gciriku,!Kwangali,!Mbukushu,!and!Shambyu!all!live!in!the!Kavango!alongside! the!Okavango!River,!which!has!provided!many!resources!for!them!to!live!by32.!!! Located!in!the!north!of!Namibia,!the!area!gets!the!most!rainfall!in!the!entire! country32.!!The!plants!that!they!utilize!would!thus!be!the!plants!that!require!a!lot!of! water.!!These!tribes!used!this!rare!surface!water!to!cultivate!crops32.!!This!sedentary! lifestyle!is!quite!a!contrast!to!the!other!tribes!of!Namibia.!!!!! ! The!Namibian!tribes!use!many!plants,!but!only!20!plants!will!be!covered!in!this!field! guide!because!these!are!the!ones!I!have!seen!and!documented,!and!for!which! information!is!available!from!multiple!sources.!! ! The!format!of!the!field!guide!will!be!as!follows!with!each!plant!organized! alphabetically!accompanied!by!photographs!taken!by!the!author:! ! Plant:!Genus&species! ! Family! Common!names! Range! Diagnostic!characteristics!! Governmental!protection!status! Indigenous!medicinal!use! ! ! ( (

Medicinal Plants of Namibia | Page 6