Rhamnus prinoides
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Shiny-leaf buckthorn
| image = Rhamnus prinoides, loof, Ncagaberg, a.jpg
| image_caption = Habit of Rhamnus prinoides
|status=LC
|status_system=IUCN3.1
| genus = Rhamnus
| species = prinoides
| authority = L'Hér.
| synonyms =
- Rhamnus pauciflora Eschsch
- Alaternus prinoides Raf.
- Celtis rhamnifolia C.Presl
}}
Rhamnus prinoides, the shiny-leaf buckthorn, is an African shrub or small tree in the family Rhamnaceae. Commonly referred to as "gesho" it was first scientifically described by French botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.{{GRIN|id=31051|name=Rhamnus prinoides L'Hér.|accessdate=24 October 2010}}
Description
Rhamnus prinoides occur from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya to South Africa at medium to high altitudes. They grow near streams or along forest margins. The small edible fruits are shiny red and berry-like.
Uses
The Rhamnus prinoides plant has many uses amongst the inhabitants of Africa. All parts of the plant are harvested and used for nutrition, medicine or religious purposes. Gesho, as it is known in Ethiopia and Eritrea, {{Cn-span|has a considerable value in these countries. It is one of the most precious crops used both locally for domestic use, and fabricated products industrially.|date=September 2021}}
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, where the plant is known as gesho or gešo,Pankhurst, Rita. "Gešo". In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha, edited by Siegbert Uhlig. 773. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005 it is used in a manner similar to hops. The stems are boiled and the extract mixed with honey to ferment a mead called tej in Amharic and {{lang|ti|myes}} in Tigrinya.Richard Pankhurst, Economic History of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 194.
It is also used in the brewing of tella (siwa in Tigrinya), an Ethiopian and Eritrean beer.Amborn, Hermann. Sewa in Tigringa "Ṭälla." In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: O-X: Vol. 4, edited by Siegbert Uhlig. 848-49. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010. This local drink is made from gesho as a major ingredient. Gesho leaves are sundried and pounded with mortar and pestle into flour. Barley malt is prepared and sundried and ground. These two ingredients are mixed, in a proportion that varies from maker to maker, and fermented 3 to 5 days on average. Finger millet (or sorghum and maize flour regionally) are baked, and finally mixed with the fermented solution. After 1–2 days of fermentation, the tella can be filtered and consumed in a drink locally called {{not a typo|guesh}} ({{lang|ti|tsiray}} in Tigrinya). In Central Kenya the plant is known as "Mûkarakinga" and it is believed to be medicinal. The bark of the plant is cut, boiled and then added to soup.
Gallery
File:Rhamnus prinoides, loof, Ncagaberg, b.jpg|{{center|Foliage}}
File:Rhamnus prinoides, blom, Moreletakloof NR, a.jpg|{{center|Flower}}
File:Rhamnus prinoides, rooi vrugte, Moreletakloof NR, a.jpg|{{center|Unripe fruit}}
File:Rhamnus prinoides, ryp vrugte, Moreletakloof NR, b.jpg|{{center|Ripe fruit}}
References
{{commons category|Rhamnus prinoides|Rhamnus prinoides}}
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite web |title=Rhamnus prinoides|work=PlantZAfrica.com|url=http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/rhamnusprinoid.htm|accessdate=2010-03-04}}
- Trees of Southern Africa, K C Palgrave, 1984 {{ISBN|0-86977-081-0}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q387180}}
Category:Flora of Southern Africa
Category:Plants described in 1789
Category:Trees of South Africa
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