Plants known by Tiv names — part 1 of 10 (Abun; Abun ahi; Ahi to Alev), 389 plants in all. Each entry gives the English and scientific names where they are known, a description, and what the archive records of the plant’s medicinal, food and ritual uses and how it is grown.
Groundnut; Peanut; Earth nut; Monkey nut
Arachis hypogaea
- Description
- A low-growing legume whose pods ripen underground; one of Tiv country's major food and cash crops.
- Medicinal uses
- The oil is sometimes rubbed on the skin for dryness and minor irritation.
- As food
- Eaten roasted or boiled, ground into paste, and used to thicken soups and stews.
- Cultivation
- Grown in sandy, well-drained soil during the rainy season, often intercropped with cereals.
Kola nut; Goro nut; Cola
Cola nitida
- Description
- An evergreen forest tree whose seeds (kola nuts) are chewed as a mild stimulant and offered as a mark of welcome.
- Medicinal uses
- Chewed to relieve fatigue and suppress hunger and thirst; used traditionally to aid digestion.
- As food
- The nut is chewed fresh — bitter at first, sweetening afterward.
- Ritual uses
- Breaking and sharing kola nut is a widespread Nigerian hospitality and covenant gesture, offered to guests and used to open negotiations and ceremonies. (This is a well-documented general Nigerian pattern; a Tiv-specific protocol was not independently confirmed.)
- Cultivation
- A shade-tolerant forest tree that begins bearing after several years and can produce for decades.
Hungry rice; Fonio; Acha; White fonio
Digitaria exilis
- Description
- A tiny-grained cereal and one of Africa's oldest cultivated grains, valued for growing on poor soils where other crops fail.
- Medicinal uses
- Considered easy to digest; traditionally given to nursing mothers and people recovering from illness.
- As food
- Cooked into couscous or porridge; a fast-cooking grain eaten as a staple in the dry season.
- Cultivation
- Sown on marginal, sandy soils; matures in as little as 6-8 weeks but is labour-intensive to dehusk by hand.
Strophanthus; Arrow-poison vine
Strophanthus hispidus
- Description
- A woody climbing vine known for its flowers' unusually long, thread-like petal tails, and for the potent poison in its seeds.
- Medicinal uses
- Seeds contain cardiac glycosides (strophanthin) — historically the source of hunting arrow-poison, later studied in Western medicine as a heart stimulant. Highly toxic; not for informal use.
- Cultivation
- A climbing liana of forest and savanna edges.
Bitter thatch grass
Urelytrum muricatum
- Description
- A tall, tufted savanna grass reaching up to 2.5m, found from Senegal to northern Nigeria.
- Medicinal uses
- Reported in Nigerian traditional medicine for threatened miscarriage and bleeding, though documentation is limited.
- As food
- Grazed by livestock only when better forage is scarce — the stems are bitter and not preferred.
- Cultivation
- Grows wild in open savanna grassland; the tough stems have been used for rope.
Monkey apple; Napoleon's crown
Napoleonaea imperialis
- Description
- A small forest tree named for its flower, shaped like a wide-brimmed hat.
- Medicinal uses
- Bark and fruit-rind used for respiratory infections; twigs used as chew-sticks for oral hygiene; also applied to wounds and high blood pressure in Eastern Nigeria.
- As food
- The fruit pulp is eaten locally.
- Cultivation
- An understorey tree of Nigeria's southern forests.
Jute mallow; Nalta jute; Edible corchorus; Bush okra
Corchorus olitorius
- Description
- A leafy annual vegetable whose mucilaginous leaves are a staple green across Nigeria.
- Medicinal uses
- The mucilage has a mild laxative effect; the leaves are valued as an iron- and vitamin-rich tonic food.
- As food
- Leaves are cooked into a slippery draw soup, eaten with a swallow.
- Cultivation
- An annual crop sown at the start of the rains in moist, fertile soil.
Velvet leaf desmodium; Sweet heart plant
Desmodium velutinum
- Description
- A velvety-leaved shrub of the pea family, common across savanna and bushland in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Medicinal uses
- Leaves and roots are used across West Africa for diarrhoea, dysentery, wounds, and menstrual complaints.
- As food
- Browsed by livestock as fodder.
- Cultivation
- A wild bushland shrub, not commonly cultivated.
Common wireweed; Broomweed; White-flowered wireweed
Sida alba
- Description
- A small weedy plant with white five-petaled flowers, common on roadsides and disturbed ground.
- Medicinal uses
- Sida species are widely used in West African traditional medicine for fever, wounds, and respiratory complaints; documentation specific to this species is thinner than for its relatives.
- Cultivation
- Grows wild as a weed of waste ground and field margins.
Water yam; Winged yam; Greater yam; Asiatic yam
Dioscorea alata
- Description
- A vigorous climbing vine grown for its large, often purple-fleshed, edible tuber — one of the most widely grown yam species in the world.
- As food
- Boiled, pounded, or roasted; a major starchy staple.
- Ritual uses
- Yam holds major ceremonial importance at New Yam harvest celebrations across Nigeria. (Nationally well documented; a Tiv-specific ceremonial protocol was not independently confirmed.)
- Cultivation
- A staked climbing vine needing fertile, well-drained soil and a long growing season of 8-10 months.
Witchweed; Purple witchweed; Striga
Striga hermonthica
- Description
- A parasitic plant that attaches to the roots of cereal crops like sorghum, millet, and maize — one of the most damaging weeds to food security in African savanna farming.
- Cultivation
- Not cultivated — a root parasite farmers actively work to control, as it can devastate a cereal harvest.
Annual tephrosia; Bracted tephrosia
Tephrosia bracteolata
- Description
- A shrubby legume of tropical Africa, in a genus best known for rotenoid compounds that stun fish without making them unsafe to eat. Tephrosia bracteolata itself is recorded as a cultivated fish-poison plant on the Ivory Coast.
- Medicinal uses
- Related Tephrosia species are studied for insecticidal and antiparasitic compounds; no source specific to this species' medicinal use was found.
- Cultivation
- A tropical African shrub; where used for fishing, the leaves are crushed and released into still water.
African copaiba balsam; Daniellia
Daniellia oliveri
- Description
- A large savanna tree that exudes an aromatic resin (copaiba balsam), common in the Guinea savanna belt, including areas near Tiv country.
- Medicinal uses
- Resin is applied to wounds and sores and taken for leprosy in parts of West Africa; bark and leaf infusions treat coughs and colds; gum and bark are used in Nigeria for urinary tract infections.
- Cultivation
- A fire-tolerant savanna woodland tree.
No widely recognized English name; sometimes grouped with “Fish Poison Bean”
Tephrosia bracteolate
- Description
- Tephrosia bracteolata is a West African leguminous shrub valued for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and veterinary uses, and for improving soil fertility.
- Medicinal uses
- Leaf extracts are analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic; roots are used for venereal diseases; the plant also treats diarrhea, stomachaches, and edema.
- As food
- Used as fodder for goats and sheep, fixes nitrogen to improve soil fertility, and serves as green manure; contains rotenoids for treating livestock parasites and as a fish poison (not for human consumption).
- Ritual uses
- While not heavily documented in rituals, it plays a role in traditional medicine as a blood purifier and general remedy for physical ailments.
- Cultivation
- Thrives in savanna, rocky plains, and poor sandy soils; propagated by seeds (germination aided by boiling or acid treatment); drought-tolerant and performs better when intercropped with grasses.
Purple tephrosia; Wild indigo; Fish poison plant
Tephrosia purpurea
- Description
- A small woody-based shrub or herb with purple pea-like flowers, common on waste ground and roadsides.
- Medicinal uses
- Roots, leaves, and seeds are used across Asia and Africa for liver, spleen, and kidney complaints, as a blood purifier, and for skin ailments; the plant also contains fish-stunning rotenoids and is traditionally used to stupefy fish for easy capture.
- Cultivation
- A hardy, self-seeding shrub of disturbed and waste ground, often found along roadsides and fallow fields.
Malayan Wild Vine
Cissus pulponea
- Description
- Cissus populnea are plants associated with a myriad of medicinal uses in different parts of the world and are good sources of carotenoids, triterpenoids, and ascorbic acid.
- Medicinal uses
- Cissus populnea are plants are good sources of carotenoids, triterpenoids, and ascorbic acid.
- As food
- Stem, tender leaves and flowers for soup, ripe fruits pounded and prepared as draw soup, cut stems of living plants provide water for the thirsty.
- Cultivation
- Stem
Giant sensitive plant; Black mimosa; Catclaw mimosa
Mimosa pigra
- Description
- A thorny shrub whose compound leaves fold shut when touched; considered one of the world's most invasive weeds, especially in wetlands and floodplains.
- Cultivation
- Spreads aggressively in wet, disturbed ground; generally treated as a weed to be cleared rather than a plant to cultivate.
Gamba grass; Gamboo grass
Andropogon gayanus
- Description
- A tall, tussock-forming savanna grass, among the most widespread and important forage grasses in West Africa.
- As food
- Cut and stored as dry-season livestock fodder.
- Cultivation
- Grows across savanna grassland; also used for thatching roofs and making rope, and planted for erosion control.
Thatching grass; Roof grass
Andropogon tectorum
- Description
- A tall, tussock-forming savanna grass, among the most widespread and important forage grasses in West Africa.
- As food
- Cut and stored as dry-season livestock fodder.
- Cultivation
- Grows across savanna grassland; also used for thatching roofs and making rope, and planted for erosion control.
Candelabra tree; Kerana euphorbia; Constricted euphorbia
Euphorbia kamerunica
- Description
- A cactus-like succulent shrub or small tree with thick, spiny, candelabra-shaped branches and abundant milky latex.
- Medicinal uses
- The latex is used in small diluted doses in traditional medicine as a purgative and for coughs, but it is highly toxic — it is caustic to skin and can cause blindness on contact with the eyes; not for informal use.
- Cultivation
- Commonly planted as a living fence around homesteads and farms; propagated easily from stem cuttings.
Pandiaka; Wild cockscomb
Pandiaka involucrata
- Description
- A low, spreading herb of the amaranth family, sometimes called wild cockscomb, found on open and disturbed ground.
- Cultivation
- A wild herb of savanna grassland and disturbed ground in tropical Africa.
Christmas bush; African Christmas bush; Water-loving Christmas bush
Alchornea cordifolia
- Description
- A sprawling shrub or small tree with heart-shaped leaves, common along forest edges, riverbanks, and fallow land across tropical Africa.
- Medicinal uses
- Leaves and root bark are used across West and Central Africa for wounds, conjunctivitis, and as a snakebite antidote; a leafy-twig decoction treats fever, rheumatic pain, and malaria; roots are used for venereal disease and dysentery.
- Cultivation
- A fast-growing shrub of forest margins and riverbanks, also colonising fallow farmland.
Cowpea
Vigna unguiculata
- Description
- Cowpea is a fast-growing legume crop widely grown in Africa (especially Nigeria), Asia, and parts of the Americas. It’s valued for food, animal feed, and soil improvement.
- Medicinal uses
- Improves blood level (rich in iron)
Helps digestion due to high fiber
Useful in managing diabetes
Supports heart health
- As food
- Eaten as boiled beans
Used to prepare akara and moi-moi
Used in bean porridge
Leaves and husks used as animal feed
- Ritual uses
- Used in traditional ceremonies
Symbol of fertility and abundance
Used during festivals and family occasions
- Cultivation
- Seeds
Grows in warm climates
Requires well-drained soil
Planted at the beginning of the rainy season
Harvested 2–3 months after planting
African custard apple or wild soursop
- Description
- Annona senegalensis, known as African custard apple or wild soursop, is a versatile African plant with edible fruit, and its leaves, bark, and roots are used medicinally for issues like malaria, fever, diarrhea, infections (respiratory, skin, oral), snakebites, and digestive problems, possessing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiparasitic properties.
- Medicinal uses
- Medicinal Uses (by Plant Part)
Leaves: Fever, malaria, yellow fever, tuberculosis, smallpox, gastrointestinal issues, oral infections, skin conditions, and as a vector control against mosquitoes.
Bark: Hernias, snakebites, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, respiratory infections, toothaches, guinea worm, and open sores.
Roots: Viral infections, gastritis, male sexual impotence, erectile dysfunction, dizziness, snakebites, diabetes, tuberculosis, and as antidotes for toxins.
Fruit: Eaten for nutrition and digestive benefits; pulp is consumed.
Juice: Used for chickenpox.
Wild custard apple; Senegal custard apple; African custard apple
Annona senegalensis
- Description
- A multi-stemmed shrub or small tree bearing round, knobbly yellow-orange fruit with a sweet, custard-like pulp.
- Medicinal uses
- Bark, leaves, and roots are used across Africa for diarrhoea, malaria, wounds, snakebite, and as a general tonic.
- As food
- The ripe fruit pulp is eaten fresh and has a mild, pineapple-like flavor; flowers and seeds are sometimes used to season food.
- Cultivation
- A hardy shrub of savanna woodland, tolerant of fire and drought; sometimes retained or planted near homesteads for its fruit.
Chewing stick; Fagara; African prickly ash; Candlewood
Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides
- Description
- A spiny shrub or small tree of the citrus family, its aromatic root and stem bark long used as a chewing stick.
- Medicinal uses
- Root and stem are chewed as a traditional toothbrush for oral hygiene and to increase saliva; decoctions of root, bark, and leaves treat toothache, malaria, fever, rheumatism, and venereal disease across West Africa.
- Cultivation
- A spiny wild shrub of savanna and dry forest, harvested from the wild for its roots and stems.
Thonning's fig; Strangler fig; Wild fig
Ficus thonningii
- Description
- A large evergreen strangler fig that often begins life on a host tree, eventually forming a substantial shade tree with small edible figs.
- Medicinal uses
- Bark is used for colds, sore throat, dysentery, wounds, constipation, and to stimulate lactation; latex is applied to wounds; root and fibre infusions are taken to help prevent miscarriage.
- As food
- Ripe figs are edible; leaves, twigs, and bark are an important dry-season fodder for livestock.
- Cultivation
- Long-lived and drought-tolerant; often planted or retained as a shade tree and boundary marker, and valued for year-round fodder.
Morinda lucida
- Description
- A small to medium forest tree with glossy leaves, closely related to the noni (Morinda citrifolia).
- Medicinal uses
- Leaf and bark decoctions are a leading traditional West African treatment for malaria and fever, and are also used for diabetes, hypertension, and inflammation; antimalarial activity has been supported by scientific studies.
- Cultivation
- A wild tree of forest and forest-edge habitats.
No standardized English common name
Pachystela pobeguiniana
- Description
- Pachystela pobeguiniana is a tropical tree native to West Tropical Africa. It may have young shoots covered with fine hairs and is known for producing edible, berry-like fruits.
- Medicinal uses
- Swollen Areas: Ground bark or stem is traditionally rubbed on swollen or inflamed body parts.
General Health Use: While detailed pharmacological studies are limited, the species is believed to contain bioactive compounds similar to other Sapotaceae members, supporting its traditional medicinal use.
- As food
- Edible Fruit: Produces red to yellow, succulent berries.
Consumption: The fruit pulp is juicy and sweet and is commonly eaten fresh, especially by children.
- Cultivation
- Primary Method: Propagation is mainly through seeds (also referred to as wildings when collected naturally).
Seed Handling: Ripe fruits are collected, crushed, and seeds extracted. Seeds may be soaked in cold water for about 12 hours or lightly scarified to enhance germination.
Other Methods: As a woody Sapotaceae species, it may also be propagated through cuttings or wildings, though seed propagation remains the most common and reliable method.
Doka, African ironwood
Isoberlinia doka
- Description
- Isoberlinia doka is commonly known as Doka, African ironwood, and by regional names such as Sau or Ko-sau, and is widely recognized in West African savannas.
- Medicinal uses
- The bark, leaves, and shoots are widely used in traditional medicine to treat wounds, infections, fever, digestive disorders, convulsions, and parasitic conditions due to their rich bioactive compounds
- As food
- The leaves are occasionally used as a vegetable in sauces, while the tree mainly serves as an important food source for livestock and wild animals rather than a staple for humans.
- Ritual uses
- The tree is culturally significant for dye fixation, fertility rituals, arrow poison preparation, household cleaning, soap making, and is believed in some communities to possess magical properties.
- Cultivation
- Isoberlinia doka is mainly propagated by seeds with enhanced germination through heat treatment, and it also regenerates naturally through suckers and division.
Doka; Akinde tree
Isoberlinia doka
- Description
- A medium-sized savanna hardwood tree that often forms near-pure stands ("doka woodland") across the West African Guinea savanna.
- Medicinal uses
- Leafy-shoot decoctions are used in baths against convulsions; gum from the branches treats abscesses and purulent infections; also used for muscular-skeletal pain, jaundice, and cough.
- Cultivation
- A dominant wild savanna tree, harvested from the wild for timber, poles, and soap-making ash; not commonly cultivated.
African Fan Palm, African Palmyra Palm, or Deleb Palm
Borassus aethiopum
- Description
- Borassus aethiopum is commonly known in English as the African Fan Palm, African Palmyra Palm, or Deleb Palm. Among the Tiv people, it is recognized as a multipurpose savanna palm, valued more for its uses than for a fixed external name, and is easily identified by its tall trunk and large fan-shaped leaves
- Medicinal uses
- In Tiv traditional medicine, different parts of the palm are used to treat a variety of ailments. Root decoctions are taken for stomach problems, intestinal parasites, chest conditions, asthma, and as a diuretic. Leaves are used in treating skin diseases and general body weakness, and are sometimes associated with vitality-enhancing remedies. Preparations from the fruit and seedlings are used for respiratory illnesses and childhood diseases, while the hard seed covering is valued for remedies targeting inflammation. These uses align with studies showing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties.
- As food
- Among the Tiv people, Borassus aethiopum is an important subsistence and food-security palm, especially during dry seasons and periods of scarcity. The fruit pulp is eaten fresh or processed; the orange, fibrous flesh may be consumed raw, dried, or cooked into porridge, while immature fruits contain a sweet, jelly-like pulp enjoyed as a seasonal food. The germinating seedlings (sprouts) are highly valued and are eaten cooked or processed into flour, providing a filling and nutritious food source. The sap, tapped from the palm, is consumed fresh or fermented into palm wine, which plays a role in Tiv social life and traditional gatherings. Although the palm heart (palm cabbage) is edible, it is rarely harvested because removing it kills the tree, and Tiv practice generally favors sustainable use of the palm.
- Cultivation
- Borassus aethiopum is a slow-growing but extremely long-lived palm, often living for over a century. It thrives naturally in savanna landscapes common to Tiv land, especially in areas with access to underground water. The palm is usually propagated by seed, which must be planted directly in the ground due to its long taproot. Germination is slow, taking several months before roots emerge and up to a year for the first leaf to appear. The tree requires full sunlight, prefers sandy or alluvial soils, and is highly drought-resistant once established, although young plants are vulnerable to fire. It may take 10 years to form a visible trunk and several decades before flowering.
Strychnos; White monkey orange
Strychnos innocua
- Description
- A small tree bearing round, hard-shelled fruit with a sweet-sour pulp, one of the African "monkey orange" species.
- Medicinal uses
- Various parts are used traditionally for skin conditions and respiratory ailments.
- As food
- The sweet-sour fruit pulp is edible; leaves are browsed by livestock.
- Cultivation
- A wild savanna tree; the pale hardwood is used for tool handles and the wood makes good firewood even when green.
Onion; Common onion; Garden onion
Allium cepa
- Description
- A widely cultivated bulb crop of the onion family, grown worldwide as a kitchen staple.
- Medicinal uses
- Traditionally used for coughs, colds, and as a home remedy for minor infections; studied for cardiovascular and antioxidant benefits.
- As food
- The bulb is a fundamental cooking ingredient, eaten raw, fried, or cooked as a flavor base in soups and stews worldwide.
- Cultivation
- Grown from seed or sets in well-drained soil; a major cultivated vegetable crop in Nigeria and worldwide.
Garlic
Allium sativum
- Description
- A bulb crop related to onion, grown for its strongly aromatic cloves.
- Medicinal uses
- Widely used traditionally and medicinally for hypertension, cholesterol, colds, and infections; contains allicin, studied for antimicrobial and cardiovascular effects.
- As food
- Cloves are a major cooking ingredient and flavoring worldwide.
- Cultivation
- Propagated by planting individual cloves; a widely cultivated garden and farm crop.
Bread wheat; Common wheat
Triticum aestivum
- Description
- An annual cereal grass and the world's most widely cultivated wheat species, grown for its grain.
- As food
- Grain is milled into flour for bread, pasta, and countless other staple foods worldwide.
- Cultivation
- A temperate-zone cereal crop, grown from seed in large-scale cultivation across much of the world.
Slender amaranth; Green amaranth
Amaranthus viridis
- Description
- A low, spreading annual herb similar to A. hybridus, also eaten as a leafy vegetable.
- Medicinal uses
- Leaves are used in poultices for inflammation, boils, and abscesses in traditional medicine.
- As food
- Young leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
- Cultivation
- A common weedy annual of gardens, farmland, and waste ground.
Smooth amaranth; Slim amaranth; Green amaranth
Amaranthus hybridus
- Description
- An erect annual herb with a dense flowering spike, widely eaten as a leafy green vegetable across Africa.
- Medicinal uses
- Used traditionally as a blood tonic; leaves have analgesic and antipyretic uses in some traditional medicine.
- As food
- Young leaves and shoots are cooked as a nutritious vegetable, rich in protein, iron, and vitamins.
- Cultivation
- A fast-growing annual weed and semi-cultivated vegetable of farmland and gardens.
Combretum; Creeping combretum
Commicarpus plumbagineus
- Description
- A scrambling or climbing perennial subshrub with slender stems that trail over the ground or into other vegetation.
- Medicinal uses
- Used in traditional medicine in parts of its range for urinary tract infections, painful menstruation, and blood-coagulation disorders.
- Cultivation
- A wild scrambling plant of dry, disturbed ground.
Cowpea; Black-eyed pea; Southern pea
Vigna unguiculata
- Description
- A fast-growing legume grown for its edible pods, seeds, and leaves; one of the most important pulse crops of the savanna belt.
- Medicinal uses
- Seeds are valued as a protein-rich food for the sick and convalescent rather than for a specific remedy.
- As food
- Seeds are boiled or made into bean cakes and stews; young leaves and pods are also eaten as a vegetable.
- Cultivation
- A short-season, drought-tolerant crop, often intercropped with millet, sorghum, or maize.
