Basananthe sandersonii (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Medicinal

Basananthe sandersonii (Harv.) De Wild.

Protologue: Blumea 21(2): 339 (1973).

Family: Passifloraceae

Synonyms

• Tryphostemma longifolium Harms (1891).

Origin and geographic distribution

Basananthe sandersonii occurs from Tanzania south to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland.

Uses

In Tanzania the roots are chewed and the juice taken internally to treat snakebites.

Description

Perennial herb up to 60 cm tall, with woody rootstock; stems erect or prostrate at base. Leaves alternate, simple; stipules linear, 1.5–5 mm long; petiole 0–5 mm long; blade orbicular, broadly ovate, obovate or elliptical, 2–16 cm × 1–4 cm, base rounded or cuneate, apex rounded or obtuse, margins toothed, glaucous beneath. Inflorescence an axillary cyme, 1–3-flowered, often with a tendril 0.5–2(–5) cm long; peduncle up to 4.5 cm long; bracts 1–4 mm long. Flowers bisexual, regular, campanulate; pedicel 3–17 mm long, pale yellow; hypanthium 2–4 mm wide; sepals 5(–7), 4.5–8.5 mm long, apex obtuse; petals absent or rarely 2; outer corona blue, with tube 1–2 mm high and threads 0.5–1.5 mm long, inner corona 1–1.5 mm high, cup-shaped; stamens 5, inserted at the inner corona, filaments 1.5–4 mm long; ovary superior, obovoid, 1–1.5 mm long, 1-celled, styles 3(–4), free, 3–4 mm long, stigma head-shaped. Fruit an obovoid capsule 1.5–2 cm long, pendulous, 1–4-seeded. Seeds 6–10 mm long.

Other botanical information

Basananthe comprises about 25 species in continental Africa.

Basananthe heterophylla

Basananthe heterophylla Schinz is an annual or occasionally short-lived perennial herb up to 50 cm tall, occurring in Namibia and Botswana at 900–1500 m altitude. A root decoction from it is used in Namibia to treat coughs.

Ecology

Basananthe sandersonii occurs in grassland, open scrub vegetation and forest edges on sandy and rocky soils, up to 1700 m altitude.

Genetic resources

Basananthe sandersonii is a widespread pioneer plant and thus not at risk of genetic erosion.

Prospects

In view of the medicinal use on record and the complete lack of chemical and pharmacological data, research into the properties of Basananthe sandersonii may prove worthwhile.

Major references

• de Wilde, W.J.J.O., 1973. Revision of Basananthe, formerly Tryphostemma (Passifloraceae). Blumea 21: 327–356.

• Kokwaro, J.O., 1993. Medicinal plants of East Africa. 2nd Edition. Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi, Kenya. 401 pp.

• Neuwinger, H.D., 2000. African traditional medicine: a dictionary of plant use and applications. Medpharm Scientific, Stuttgart, Germany. 589 pp.

Other references

• Bernhard, A., 1999. Flower structure, development, and systematics in Passifloraceae and in Abatia (Flacourtiaceae). International Journal of Plant Science 160(1): 135–150.

• von Koenen, E., 2001. Medicinal, poisonous and edible plants in Namibia. Klaus Hess Verlag, Göttingen, Germany. 336 pp.

Author(s)

• A. de Ruijter, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

de Ruijter, A., 2007. Basananthe sandersonii (Harv.) W.J.de Wilde. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 6 March 2025.

• See the Prota4U database.