Harpagophytum
thumb|Dry fruit of H. procumbens - MHNT right|thumb| thumb|upright|San people|San man collecting devil's claw in [[Namibia (2017)]] Harpagophytum ( ), also called grapple plant, wood spider, and most commonly '''devil's claw''', is a genus of plants in the sesame family, native to southern Africa. Plants of the genus owe their common name "devil's claw" to the peculiar appearance of their hooked fruit. Several species of North American plants in the genus Proboscidea and certain species of Pisonia, however, are also known by this name. Devil's claw's tuberous roots are used in folk medicine to
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderLamiales
- FamilyPedaliaceae
Native toAngola, Botswana, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Eswatini, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Zambia
Perennial herb, with prostrate annual stems. Leaves opposite, ± succulent, variable. Flowers solitary, erect, borne on short pedicels. Corolla tube cylindrical; limb spreading; lobes ± equal. Stamens 4. Fruit an extraordinary flattened woody capsule bearing two rows of curved arms which themselves bear recurved spines.
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Research
222 papers- Harpagophytum extracts.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2002
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Range
- Etymology
- Folk medicine and research
- Adverse reactions
- Ecology and management
- References
- External links
thumb|Dry fruit of H. procumbens - MHNT right|thumb| thumb|upright|San people|San man collecting devil's claw in [[Namibia (2017)]] Harpagophytum ( ), also called grapple plant, wood spider, and most commonly '''devil's claw''', is a genus of plants in the sesame family, native to southern Africa. Plants of the genus owe their common name "devil's claw" to the peculiar appearance of their hooked fruit. Several species of North American plants in the genus Proboscidea and certain species of Pisonia, however, are also known by this name. Devil's claw's tuberous roots are used in folk medicine to reduce pain.
==Range== Harpagophytum procumbens is mainly found in the eastern and south eastern parts of Namibia, Southern Botswana, and the Kalahari region of the Northern Cape, South Africa. H. zeyheri is found in the northern parts of Namibia (Ovamboland) and southern Angola.