''Tetradenia riparia'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

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

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), 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 (herb), ba ...

. 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 th ...

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

Hochstetter Höchstetter (also as Hochstätter or Hochstetter) is a German surname. Notable persons with the surname include: * Astrid Hochstetter (born 1979), German figure skater * Christian Hochstätter (born 1963), German professional footballer * Ferdi ...

and

Codd Codd is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernard Codd (1934–2013), English motorcycle racer * Edgar F. Codd (1923–2003), British computer scientist * Frederick Codd (1831–1888), English Gothic revival architect * Hiram ...

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

Description

It is a

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

, slightly

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 ...

shrub that grows up to 2m high, occasionally reaching 5m, with irregular branch pattern. The leaves are simple, opposite, bright green, somewhat heart-shaped, sticky, aromatic, with the margin irregularly, coarsely toothed, 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 and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

scent and both sides are covered with a thin dark red lint.Tetradenia riparia (Hochst.)Codd
by the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation tasked with research and dissemination of information on biodiversity, and legally mandated to contribute to the management of the country's biodiversity resources. ...

(SANBI). Retrieved 4 November 2024. The stems are brown, smooth, though younger stems feature glandular hairs and a ruby tinge, making them somewhat sticky to touch. 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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

and multi-stemmed while the branches are semi-

Inflorescences

The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

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 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 widely and commonly ...

, 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 immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

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

s in wintertime (June–August in Africa) 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 that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

in the

Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

gardens).

Range

It grows on the banks of rivers and hillsides, including

riverbank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

forest edge A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to h ...

s, dry woodland valleys and hillsides where there is only minor frost. It is found in eastern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

and

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and in eastern tropical Africa into

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

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. It prefers well drained and well composted soil, and it needs pruning after flowering. It is easily propagated by cuttings.

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 h ...

. 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 ...

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, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

'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 which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and Microorganism, microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex fol ...

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...

headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, 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 (mood), depression in those with severe ...

s (inhaling the leaves scent),

toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth 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 referred ...

and some other ailments. The

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

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 is the deadliest species of ''Plasmodium'' that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female ''Anopheles'' mos ...

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 leaves and buds IMG 2103c.jpg, Leaves and buds 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) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

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

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

at 1600 m altitude (near Ribáuè in the north of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

) Misty plume bush.jpg, The plant in full bloom in Sydney, Australia

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 Taxa named by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter