The population, utilization and local management of Elaeodendron transvaalense in the Blouberg Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract. Rasethe MT, Semenya SS. 2019. The population, utilization and local management of Elaeodendron transvaalense in the Blouberg Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Biodiversitas 20: 2978-2985. Elaeodendron transvaalense is highly harvested by rural communities of the Limpopo Province (South Africa) to meet various livelihoods. However, its information on the population, uses, harvesting practices, threatening factors and local management is still not investigated and documented in many parts of this province. The current study therefore, provides a base-line data of E. transvaalense occurring in two villages of the Blouberg Municipality, Limpopo Province. Data on the population locations, utilization and local management strategies of this species was collected from community members, traditional healers and leaders via semi-structured questionnaires, supplemented by field observations on harvesting practices, threats, area of occupancy, population size, density and demographic structure and population health. Two populations, referred in this study as Sebotlana and Makgabeng covering an area of 25252.17 m2 and 45099.79 m2, respectively, were located in the two villages of the Blouberg Municipality. Both populations were characterized by a mixture of healthy seedlings, sapling, juvenile, middle trees, adult trees, and senescent trees, with Makgabeng population having the highest plant density. Various morphological parts such as bark and roots were mainly used by respondents as common ingredients in traditional medicines, mainly for cough, fever, diarrhoea, symptoms of AIDS and as blood purifier. Evidence of harvesting was only observed on Sebotlana population, which was also highly impacted by rural settlement expansion. Overall, there were no local management strategies meant specifically for the identified E. transvaalense around the Blouberg area.

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Local management strategies and attitudes towards selected threatened or protected plant species in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity ◽

10.13057/biodiv/d220922 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (9) ◽

Author(s):

Marula Triumph Rasethe ◽

MARTIN POTGIETER ◽

MICHÈLE PFAB

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Plant Species ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Limpopo Province ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Collaborative Partnerships ◽

Local Management ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Traditional Health ◽

Communal Lands

Abstract. Rasethe MT, Potgieter M, Pfab M. 2021. Local management strategies and attitudes towards selected threatened or protected plant species in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Biodiversitas 22: 3773-3784. Throughout South Africa, ordinary people are managing and using local natural resources in ways that enhance their lives, but there is a major concern about the sustainability of wild plant harvest. This study aims to investigate the current management strategies employed by local people in the Limpopo Province for selected threatened or protected plant species (TOPS). Semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather information from a total of 333 participants, i.e. 110 community members (CMs), 180 traditional health practitioners (THPs), and 28 traditional leaders (TLs), as well as from 15 conservation officers (COs). The study area included the districts of Capricorn, Sekhukhune, Mopani, Vhembe, and Waterberg. Results indicated that in all districts of the province most CMs and THPs reported that no one managed plant resources in their surrounding communal lands, though TLs indicated that the state was involved with management. Fifty-nine percent of THPs indicated that there are no traditional rules that are applied towards conservation of communal lands, yet 91% of other participants in the Mopani, Sekhukhune, and Capricorn districts indicated that traditional rules are followed. Most CMs in these three districts were allowed to participate in conservation initiatives, although most of them did not know that the plants they were using were threatened and protected in legislation. It is recommended that collaborative partnerships be initiated between government and TLs in relation to managing the threatened or protected plant species in communal lands.

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Erectile dysfunction: Definition and materia medica of Bapedi traditional healers in Limpopo province, South Africa

Journal of Medicinal Plants Research ◽

10.5897/jmpr2012.940 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 71-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Johannes Christoffel Erasmus Lourens ◽

Johannes Potgieter Marthienus ◽

Silas Semenya Sebua

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Erectile Dysfunction ◽

Traditional Healers ◽

Limpopo Province ◽

Materia Medica

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Plants Used by Bapedi Traditional Healers to Treat Asthma and Related Symptoms in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine ◽

10.1155/2018/2183705 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sebua Silas Semenya ◽

Alfred Maroyi

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Study Finding ◽

Traditional Healers ◽

Limpopo Province ◽

Herbal Remedies ◽

Face To Face ◽

Sclerocarya Birrea ◽

Time In Literature ◽

Herbal Therapies

To the best of our knowledge there are presently no ethnobotanical surveys focusing on the utilisation of herbal remedies for asthma in South Africa. The present study is therefore an attempt to fill this gap in knowledge. A total of 140 Bapedi traditional healers (THs) practicing in the Capricorn, Sekhukhune, and Waterberg districts of the Limpopo Province (South Africa) were queried using semistructured questionnaires, supplemented by field observations during face-to-face interview. A total of 104 medicinal plant species (92 indigenous and 12 exotics) belonging to 92 genera, distributed across 54 botanical families, mostly the Asteraceae and Fabaceae (18.5%, for each) as well as Malvaceae (12.9%), were used as antiasthmatics and related symptoms by these THs. Most of the plants were trees and herbs (37.5%, for each), with root (57%), leaf (15.8%), and bark (7.5%), respectively, being the saliently used parts for preparation of remedies.Clerodendrum ternatum,Cryptocarya transvaalensis,Lasiosiphon caffer,Enicostema axillare,Mimusops obovata,Sclerocarya birrea, andStylochaeton natalensiswere widely used and valued by all THs across the surveyed districts. Furthermore, these taxa also scored both the highest use value and fidelity level indexes as asthma therapies. Overall, the larger number of species documented in the present study is recorded for the first time in literature as asthma and/or related symptoms remedies. Our study finding generally contributes towards an establishment of South African database of herbal therapies used traditionally against these conditions.

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