''Tetradenia riparia'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

native to southern Africa. It belongs in the mint and sage family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

. It is occasionally referred to as misty plume bush and is commonly used as a decorative

garden plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

due to its flowers when in full bloom. ''Tetradenia'' means 'four glands' and ''riparia'' translates to 'growing on banks of rivers'. This species was first described by botanists (

Hochst. Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (16 February 1787 – 20 February 1860) was a German botanist and Protestant minister. Biography Hochstetter was born in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand H ...

) Codd in 1983. It is also known as ginger bush, Ibozane and musk bush.

Description

It is a shrub that grows up to 2m high, occasionally reaching 5m. The foliage is sticky and smells pleasantly aromatic. The plant is

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

and multi-stemmed while the branches are semi-

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

. The leaves are simple, large, heart-shaped and opposite. They are also coarsely toothed, thick-haired and sticky, and are 35–80 mm long. Leaves that are crushed have a

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

scent. Both sides are covered with a thin dark red lint. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s are

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

ed, large bunches at the ends of the shoots. About three millimeters in diameter and would appear in veins, the flowers range in color from white to

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

, and pink flowers are also found. Male flower spikes have more of the "mist" effect than the female flowers which tend to be more compact. Flowering occurs only in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

s in wintertime (June–August) when the plant is bare, in the top section of the branches, coinciding with the

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

Range

It grows on the banks of rivers and hillsides. It is found in eastern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

and

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

and in eastern tropical Africa.

Cultivation

It is commonly planted in gardens as an ornamental because of its abundant decorative flowering. Fast growing (up to 80 cm per year), the plant will flower in its first year and would prefer occasional watering in summer, though less so in winter.

Medicinal

This shrub is considered a

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

. The

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

of its leaves feature

antimalarial Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target groups, young ...

contents. It is one of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

's most popular herbal remedies and has been used throughout its range to treat

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three pha ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characterist ...

headache Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result ...

s (inhaling the leaves scent),

toothache Toothache, also known as dental pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the te ...

and some other ailments. The herb used is fresh or dried leaves and young shoots. Herbs are usually collected as needed, as they tend to black out and dry poorly. Laboratory studies have shown that the herb contains ingredients that actually moderate the malaria-causing

Plasmodium falciparum ''Plasmodium falciparum'' is a Unicellular organism, unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of ''Plasmodium'' that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female ''Anopheles'' mosqu ...

parasite. An extract from the leaves has been found to inhibit bacterial growth.SAXENA; PANT; JAIN; BHAKUNI. Antimalarial agents from plant sources. In: Current Science, v.85 n.9, nov 2003.

Gallery

File:Gardenology.org-IMG 2237 rbgs11jan.jpg, New foliage growth in spring File:Tetradenia_riparia_01.jpg, Overview of Tetradenia riparia in cultivation in a garden File:Tetradenia_riparia_02.jpg,

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

of ''Tetradenia riparia'' File:Tetradenia_riparia_03.jpg, Detail of the inflorescence of Tetradenia riparia File:Tetradenia_riparia.jpg, Flowering cuttings of Tetradenia riparia File:Skukuza indigenous nursery, Kruger National Park, South Africa (14987227545).jpg, Purple-flowering variety File:Tetradenia riparia, Louwsburg.jpg, Tetradenia riparia in its natural habitat in

Louwsburg Louwsburg is a small town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Louwsburg was a small village named after a farmer, Louw, who donated his farm Toggevonden for establishing of the town in 1925. Cattle, Vegetable and maize farming are the primary economic ...

(

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

) File:Tetradenia riparia 2 - Ribaue (9798736346).jpg, Tetradenia riparia

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

at 1600 m altitude (near Ribáuè in the north of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

)

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10380975 Lamiaceae Garden plants of Southern Africa Garden plants Ornamental plants Flora of South Africa Flora of Angola Flora of Namibia Flora of Botswana Garden plants of Africa Plants described in 1983