African Traditional Vegetables Back on the Table

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Notes to broadcasters

There are more than 300 different species of African traditional vegetables that have been eaten in East Africa for many years. These vegetables are known for their nutritive as well as medicinal value.

African traditional vegetables were a big part of people’s diet and culture until “modern” vegetables like cabbage and carrots were introduced. In the past few years, however, traditional vegetables have slowly been regaining popularity. The once neglected vegetables are now being grown by small-scale farmers, sold in open air markets and supermarkets, and eaten by both rural and urban populations.

This script captures the experiences of people who have been successfully growing and selling traditional vegetables in Kenya. It shows how farmers can grow traditional vegetables to improve their income and food security.

This script is based on actual interviews. You could use this script as inspiration to research and write a script on a similar topic in your area. Or you might choose to produce this script on your station, using voice actors to represent the speakers. If so, please make sure to tell your audience at the beginning of the program that the voices are those of actors, not the original people involved in the interviews.

Script

Sig tune up then under

Host:

Take a guess. They are nutritious, they do well in dry environments, they can be a source of income, and they are environmentally friendly … If you said African traditional vegetables, you’re right, and that is what we are going to learn about today.Signature tune up and out under

Host:

Hello and welcome to Farmer to Farmer. My name is Winnie Onyimbo. In East Africa, traditional African vegetables such as amaranth, spider plant, Ethiopian or African kale, African nightshade and others are back on our table. Not very long ago, these vegetables were considered unattractive and backward. Many urban dwellers did not know how to cook them properly. But that has all changed.

Today we will go on a journey to follow the value chain of African leafy vegetables. Along the way, we’ll learn about their importance to our diet and how they can help strengthen food security in Africa. We will visit people who not only produce the vegetables, but have a passion for them. First, we will visit a seed seller, then a farmer who grows African traditional vegetables, then a scientist specializing in traditional vegetables, and finally a supermarket representative. But our journey starts and ends in the kitchen.

Sound of cooking. Fade and hold under conversation.

Host:

I am standing in Anne’s kitchen. Anne cooks and eats African leafy vegetables. I’m watching her prepare a meal of the traditional vegetables that have now become very popular in East Africa. (Pause) So what are we cooking today?

Anne:

Today we are cooking amaranth and spider plant.

Host:

Why do you prefer traditional African vegetables?

Anne:

They are sweet, they are healthier than kale and cabbage, and they take less time to cook.

Host:

Smells nice. How long it will take?

Anne:

Less than 10 minutes.

Host:

Alright, that is the approximate time we will need to tell the story of my journey to find out about traditional African vegetables in Kenya. My first stop was in Wangige, a small town on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, where I met with Kangara, a seed seller.

Fade sound of cooking

Sound of car starting, then fade

Host:

Seeds are the beginning of the value chain for traditional African vegetables. Kangara sells only good quality seeds of African traditional vegetables.

Kangara:

I get my seeds from Nakuru. The demand is very high right now. Many people prefer these vegetables, even in the large cities.

Host:

Although seed developers were initially skeptical about working with traditional African vegetables, their popularity in supermarkets and at open-air markets has created a market for seeds of African leafy vegetables.

Kangara:

I sell to farmers and to other seed sellers who want amaranth, spider plant, African kale, and African nightshade. I deliver in the cities and villages. I have been doing this for 30 years and I have educated my children up to college level.

Fade up sound of cooking, then under host.

Host:

That was Kangara, a traditional vegetable seed seller. (Pause) From central Kenya, my journey to trace African leafy vegetables then took me to Kiserian, a settlement in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, where I met Stephen Kimondo, a farmer who grows only African vegetables.

Sound of car starting, then fade up farm sounds. Fade and hold under conversation.

Host:

Because Stephen Kimondo’s seeds are good quality and he only uses cow manure, his vegetables grow well and have a wide market. (Pause) Why do people have such an interest in African leafy vegetables?

Kimondo:

People are running away from the so-called chemically processed food and going back to their roots. And going back to the roots means traditional vegetables. So I give people what they want.

Host:

When did you start growing these vegetables?

Kimondo:

I have been at it since the year 2000, and I love what I do.

Host:

Who do you sell them to?

Kimondo:

We started with supermarkets. Then we saw that a number of people don’t go to supermarkets. So we said, why don’t we sell them in open-air markets? So we load them in the morning on our pickups and take them to the open market.

Host:

What changes have you seen since you started selling to people who buy vegetables from the local markets?

Kimondo:

You would be surprised; we cannot meet the market need. The market is too big. Most of the Maasai people never used to eat vegetables, but now they do!

Host:

What kind of fertilizer do you use?

Kimondo:

Ordinary manure from cows. Here we are surrounded by Maasai with their cattle. Our manure is organic; we don’t use chemical fertilizers.

Host:

What about water? I see you have pipes running in between your vegetables. Where do you get the water?

Kimondo:

It’s true – we use a drip irrigation system. We sunk a borehole, and we attached the drip irrigation to the borehole water source. It conserves a lot of water. Overhead sprinkler equipment is more difficult to deal with.

Host:

How often do you irrigate?

Kimondo:

We do our irrigation at night because it gets very hot during the day.

Host:

I see you have many different varieties of vegetables. Do they all grow during the rainy and hot seasons or do you rotate the vegetables according to seasons?

Kimondo:

We don’t change the crops we grow according to the seasons. We only grow traditional vegetables, and most of them do well as long as you till your farm and water the vegetables.

Host:

I know you grow them, but do you eat these vegetables yourself?

Kimondo:

You would be surprised. I eat a kilo raw as I walk through my farm. Whenever I see a beautiful leaf, I just put it in my mouth. My family also loves them. They know they’re both nutritional and medicinal. You know we have to lead by example.

Host:

You said you have been growing these traditional vegetables since the year 2000. How has it changed your life?

Kimondo:

I love farming. If I am getting a shilling or two, then why shouldn’t I continue with it? The best thing is that you can never satisfy the masses with African vegetables. If I had 100 acres, I would still do this and probably make more money. But with the little I have, I thank God.

Host:

I see that for you this is more than just farming. You see growing these vegetables as a way to help people.

Kimondo:

Yes. Once, Uchumi Supermarket in Kenya brought 87 farmers together from all over the country, and the whole day we learnt about growing traditional vegetables. The majority of them are now growing these traditional vegetables all over the country. I also try and share my love for traditional vegetables in church, and when people hear about the vegetables they are happy about it and make orders for the vegetables. I have seen a lot of changes.

Host:

Kimondo not only sells common African vegetables. He has also introduced what some of us would call a weed – and it is selling!

Kimondo:

We have things like blackjack. Most people don’t know that black jack is much better than the usual traditional vegetables; it is very difficult to tell people what it is unless you cook it for them and they taste it. They see me eating it and I show them how to cook it. Many people have traditional vegetables, including black jack, in kitchen gardens. We tell people how to grow the vegetables and cook them because we want them to benefit from what they have in their gardens. We are encouraging people to go beyond what they are familiar with. That’s why we are selling a lot of blackjack and other “weeds” now.

Host:

That was a very enthusiastic Kimondo, an African vegetable farmer from Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. (Chuckle) I am not sure I would eat black jack, though.

Mmmm … the vegetables are starting to smell very good. (Pause) But back to my travels. My next stop was Bioversity International in Nairobi to understand more about black jack and other traditional African vegetables.

I have a few more minutes before my meal is ready. I think I can fit in two more stops before I enjoy my traditional vegetables.

Sound of car starting, then fade

Host:

At Bioversity International, I met Patrick Maundu, a research scientist on African foods. According to Mr. Maundu, these vegetables provide protein, iron, vitamin A, iodine, zinc, and selenium at up to seven times the amount found in cabbage.

Host:

So what has prompted the interest in these neglected African vegetables?

Maundu:

It’s the result of quite a number of factors. One is the fact that many people are now aware of their health and are trying as much as possible to eat healthy. Compared to cabbage and kale, traditional vegetables are quite nutritious. The second reason is that people want to diversify and eat other things. The economy of Africa is advancing every year and people have a little more money to spend on other things. So why not try other tastes? Another factor is that people are getting more and more conscious of their culture; people want to go back to their roots, and food is a big component of our tradition. I think all these factors together are contributing to what we see. Maybe I should mention another thing which we might ignore, and that’s HIV and AIDS. Why? Because HIV positive persons want to eat healthy. Many doctors have suggested people should diversify their taste in vegetables. Our traditional vegetables are quite rich in nutrients, so why not give them a chance if you want to live healthy?

Host:

Could you mention a few vegetables and what nutritive value they have?

Maundu:

Different vegetables are rich in different nutrients. There are many types of leafy amaranth, but generally amaranth is rich in vitamin A and iron. African nightshade is rich in calcium. Another vegetable that some of our listeners may know is moringa. The most common type is known as Moringa oleifera. It is normally dried and ground into powder and found in the supermarkets. Moringa is known as the miracle vegetable because it is rich in almost every nutrient you can think of, including some of the rare minerals the body needs. Each vegetable has its own advantage and that’s why it’s a good idea to eat as many different vegetables as possible, so we can take advantage of many types of nutrients.

Host:

Besides the nutritional value of these vegetables, there is also the medicinal value. Maybe you could briefly mention a few which you think have medicinal value.

Maundu:

Many of these vegetables are good for the stomach. One is jute mallow. When you are anemic, there are vegetables like spider plant. When people suffer from tonsillitis, you see them taking African nightshade because some people believe that it is a good antibacterial, and that it is good for the throat.

Host:

What is the importance of these African leafy foods for food security in Africa?

Maundu:

In Africa, many people were not eating the vegetables which grow in their backyard. Instead, they were going to the supermarkets to buy things which they cannot grow. They spend more money to buy less nutritious foods. And because they’re less nutritious, this hurts food security in the home.

One big advantage of African leafy vegetables is that, because each community has its own list of vegetables that people grow in their own area, the vegetables are adapted to the local climate. Therefore, the frequent failures of rain are less likely to affect these vegetables. And local people know how to cook them. It’s part of their culture. In terms of food security, growing local vegetables improves their chances of having something on the table throughout the year, and also something extra to sell in the local market.

Host:

Let’s talk about vegetables that people don’t usually eat and think of as weeds. Could you mention a few?

Maundu:

I can mention a few which are not planted but are picked in the wild: two good examples are the blackjack and gallant soldier, which are common in our farms. Once in a while, farmers pick them in their fields and include them with their vegetables for various reasons, perhaps to improve their taste or change their consistency – and that’s part of African cuisine.

Host:

Ok, let’s talk about growing them. Many farmers I have met just broadcast the seeds.

Maundu:

The common rule is that if the vegetable grows to five feet tall, there is no need to space the plants close. But if the vegetable grows only up to one foot tall, you need to space the plants closer together. For example, the giant African nightshade is best if spaced one foot apart and planted in rows. For crotalaria, which is a popular plant in western Kenya and northern Uganda, broadcasting is best, because even if you crowd them together, it doesn’t affect the yield.

Host:

You said these vegetables are good for food security because they are hardy. What about water and manure – do they need a lot?

Maundu:

It depends on the vegetable. For example, some types of amaranth require a lot of nitrogen – African nightshade also needs a lot of nitrogen. That’s why it grows naturally near cattle pens where there is a lot of manure. But some African leafy vegetables do well in extremely poor soils. Some need lots of manure, some don’t need much, and some need lots of water, like the giant African nightshade. This is why you need to diversify on your farm, to grow as many of these vegetables as possible.

Host:

For the small-scale farmer or for someone in the city who would like to grow these vegetables, what would you advise them?

Maundu:

First of all, you need to have seeds. But nowadays, it’s easy to get seeds, from the farming supply stores or from institutions that are doing research on African leafy vegetables. They will always be glad to give you seeds to grow. You can even put soil in sacks and fertilize and grow all sorts of vegetables as long as you water them. So space is not a constraint, even if you are in a flat.

Host:

Ok, let’s talk about cooking. What is the best way to cook them?

Maundu:

Many of them only need to be cooked for ten minutes or less. If you cook them for longer than that, you risk losing many of the vitamins which are broken down by heat, including vitamin C and A. So the best way is to cook them as briefly as possible without compromising on the taste.

Host:

That was Patrick Maundu, a research scientist on African foods from Bioversity International in Nairobi.

Sound of car starting, then fade

Host:

I have time for one more stop before I have my meal. For my last stop, I passed by one of the leading supermarkets in Nairobi to have a look at their vegetables and see if the marketing channels for African leafy vegetables are working well.

Sounds of supermarket then fade

Host:

I am at the Uchumi supermarket in Nairobi, in the fresh food section. It’s late afternoon and many customers are queuing for the vegetables. I can see fresh, clean and well-packaged amaranth, spider plant, African kale, African nightshade, pumpkin leaves and cowpea leaves. These vegetables were not stocked by supermarkets like this one a few years ago. Edward Azere is the branch team leader at Uchumi supermarket on Koinange Street in Nairobi.

Host:

Why do you stock traditional vegetables?

Edward Azere:

Kenyans really like traditional vegetables. They’re good for their health. They prefer traditional vegetables, especially amaranth, spider plant, African nightshade, and cowpeas, which are very nutritious and also have some value in traditional medicine.

Host:

How do you find the sales of these traditional vegetables?

Edward Azere:

In our outlets countrywide, traditional vegetables are the market leaders when it comes to fresh produce. They make up 80% of sales in our fresh produce. The demand sometimes exceeds supply.

Host:

Where do you get the vegetables from?

Edward Azere:

Our suppliers get them from farmers, and they deliver them to us very early in the morning. They come from as far as western Kenya and the Rift Valley, because at Uchumi we believe in fresh produce. We don’t get our vegetables from Nairobi because we don’t have farms in Nairobi, but also because they might be using dangerous chemicals.

Host:

I was talking to Edward Azere, branch manager of Uchumi supermarket in Nairobi. That was the last stop on my journey. Let’s see if the African vegetables are ready yet. I am ready for a mouth-watering dish of amaranth and spider plant.

Sound of footsteps then fade

Host:

Here I am. Hi …

Anne:

You are in good time.

Host:

The sweet smell of African leafy vegetables. I cannot wait to taste. Hmmm … very tasty!

And that ends my journey to trace the value chain of African leafy vegetables in Kenya. Thank you for staying with me through this journey. We learnt why African leafy vegetables are coming back to our tables, their importance to our diet, and how they can help the food security situation in Africa.

We heard from Kangara, a traditional vegetable seed seller, and Kimondo, a farmer who grows African traditional vegetables. We also heard from Edward Azere, a supermarket chain representative, and Patrick Maundu, a scientist with Bioversity International. Until next week, this is your host for Farmer to Farmer, Winnie Onyimbo.

Acknowledgements

Contributed by: Winnie Onyimbo, Transworld Radio, Nairobi, Kenya
Reviewed by: Patrick Maundu, Bioversity International

Information sources

Interviews with:

Gidreff Kangara, seed seller in Wangige, Central province in Kenya, July 31, 2012

Stephen Kimondo, farmer in Kiserian, Rift Valley province in Kenya, August 3, 2012

Patrick Maundu, Research scientist Bioversity International, August 18, 2012

Edward Azere, Branch Manager Uchumi Supermarket Nairobi, September 17, 2012

For further information and recipes using traditional vegetables:

International Plant Genetic Resource Institute (IPGRI), 2006. Back by popular demand: The benefits of traditional vegetables. http://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/bioversity/publications/pdfs/1090_Back_by_popular_demand.The_benefits_of_traditional_vegetables.pdf?cache=1342739098

AVRDC (The World Vegetable Centre), undated. African Traditional Vegetables: Recipes for Good Health. http://libnts.avrdc.org.tw/web_docs/recipes/African%20Traditional%20Recipes_final_English.pdf

Slow Food, undated. Cooking with Traditional Leafy Vegetables: Indigenous Plants in Tanzania’s Kitchen. Downloadable at: http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/pubblicazioni/pubblicazioni.lasso?-id_pg=27

Common names of traditional African vegetables: The following list gives the common names in various languages for some of the vegetables mentioned in the story. The list is not meant to be exhaustive. In most cases, the language is mentioned first (in italics) and then the common name. In some cases, only the country name is mentioned (in italics), not the specific language. In most cases, accents are not included. This list is based on internet sources, whose accuracy has not been verified.

African nightshade: (Solanum villosum) Adja: gboyame; Chagga: kimachame; Cotafon; gboyame; French : morelle jaune, morelle poilue ou velue; Holly: ossun; Kamba: kitulu; Kipsigis: isoiyot; Kisii: rinagu; Kimasai: nyafu; Kizigua: mnavu; Luhya: namaska, lisutsa; Luo: osuga; Maasai: ormomoi; Luganda: nsugga; Swahili: mnavu; Taita: ndunda.
Amaranth: (Amaranthus species) Adja: tete; Afrikaans: hanekam, kalkoenslurp, misbredie, varkbossie; Aizo: fotete, gboholou; Anii: alefo, guiweguifonon, ifofonon; Bariba: afonnou; Bemba: lengalenga; Boko: efo, gasia; Chichewa: bonongwe; Congo: bitekuteku (Amaranthus viridis, Kinshasa Province); Cotafon: fotete, tete; Dendi: abahoham; Fon: fotete; French: calalou, callalou; Fulani: boroboro; Ghana: madze, efan, muotsu, swie; Giriama: logatsi; Gourmantche: aiinkpinnan; Hausa: alayyafu; Holly: thokoagbodjouba, tete ognibo, tetedudu, tetefounfoun, tetefufu; Idatcha: fotete; Ife: adjogodo; Kamba: woa; Kikuyu: terere; Kipsigis: kelichot; Kisii: embog; Kotokoli: alefo, karatchitou; Lozi: libowa; Luhya: libokoi; Luo: ododo; Maasai: nanyi; Mahi: fotete, tete; Nigeria: efo, tete, inene; Northern Soto: thepe; Nyanja: bonongwe; Oueme: soman; Otammari: adefo; Sierra Leone: grins (Creole), hondi (Mende); Swahili: mchicha; Tchabe: efo docteur, olowon’djedja; Temne: ka-bonthin; Tonga: bonko; Tsonga (Shangaan): cheke; Tswana: imbuya, thepe; Venda: vowa, Wana: yonbita, yonbtena, yonman; Xhosa: umfino, umtyuthu, unomdlomboyi; Zulu: imbuya, isheke.

Blackjack: (Bidens pilosa) Adja: djankoui; Anii: boboyo; Bondei: twanguo; Chagga: imbara; French: coréope odorante; Gogo: mhangalale; Haya: obukuruna; Hehe: livanivani; Kamba: musee; Kikuyu: mucege; Luo: onyiego; Luhya: orogohe; Maasai: oloreperep; Matengo: injule; Mbwembwe Meru: ishashando; Ndebele: ucucuza; Ngoni: kisosoki, manyonyoli; Northern Soto: monyane; Nyamwezi: lekalamata; Nyaturu: mpangwe; Sambaa: kitojo; Shona: nhungunira; Swahili: kishona nguo; Tsonga (Shangaan): muxidji; Zulu: uqadolo.

Cow peas: (Vigna unguiculata) Acholi: boo, ngor, enkoole; Adja: ayiman; Aizo: ayiman, yiviman; Alur and Jonam: amuli, obo; Amharic: adenguare; Anii: atchakobo, guisei; Arabic: lubia hilo; Bariba: suiwurusu; Boko: blaa; Bugisu: likote; Chichewa: khobwe; Cotafon: ayiman; Ethiopia: nori; Fon: ayiman; French: niébé; Giriama: tsafe; Gourmantche: titukpindi, toutoufari; Holly: ewa, eweewa; Idatcha: ewa; Kakwa: nyele, laputu; Kambe: nthooko; Kikuyu: thoroko; Kisii: egesare, kunde; Kokokoli: sonanfade; Langi: eggobe, ekiyindiru, mpindi; Luganda: kiyindiru, bojo; Luhya: likhuve; Luo: a lot-bo; Maasai: soroko; Mahi: ayiku, ayiman; Ndebele: ndlubu, indumba; Nigeria: agwa, akidiani; Northern Sotho: dinawa, monawa; Nyiha: kunde; Otammari: titu’nti, tituti; Oueme: ayiman; Oshiwambo: omakunde, olunya (white with black eye), omandume or ongoli (mixed black, brown, purple); Runyankore: omugobe; Rutooro: omugobe; Runyoro: omugobe; Sesotho: linaoa; Setswana: dinawa, nyeru, dinawa, morogo wa dinawa; Shona: nyemba; Siswati: tinhlumayi; Swahili: kunde; Tchabe: ewa; Teso: eboo, imere; Tonga: ilanda, nyabo; Tsonga (Shangaan): msoni; Tumbuka: nkunde; Uganda: amuli, boo-ngor, omugobe, boo (in Acholi and Luo); Wama: yangutu, yonguitu.

Crotalaria: (Crotalaria species) French: crotalaria, crotalaire, chanvre de Bengale, sunn; Gourmantche: kumalikoungu; Kamba: kamusuusuu; Kipsigis: kipkururiet; Luhya: emiro, mitoo; Luo: mito, mitoo; Maasai: oleechei; Pokot: karma; Wama: kuanonman.

Ethiopian or African kale: (Brassica carinata) French: chou frisé africain; Luhya: kanzira; Luo: kadhira.

Gallant soldier: (Galinsoga parviflora) French : Galinsoga à petites fleurs.

Giant African nightshade: (Solanum scabrum) Adje: lanman; Bariba: kopwonka; French : morelle scabre; Kamba: kitulu; Kikuyu: managu; Kipsigis: isoiyot; Luhya: namaska; Luo: osuga; Luganda: nsugga; Maasai: ormomoi; Swahili: mnavu; Taita: ndunda; Wama: kotorokou.

Jute mallow: (Corchorus olitorius) Adja: demi; Aizo: azatalouga, nenouwi, ninhouin, ninjouinaman; Anii: ayoyo, banan, bawounna, gbannan; Arabic: molkhia; Bariba: yoyokun; Bembe: lusakasak; Boko: viohounda, viola, yoyogunan; Cotafon: ademe, demin, deminve; Dendi: ayoyo; Fon: ninnouwi; Giriama: vombo; French: corète, corète potagère, corette, corette potagère, craincrain, jute potager, krinkrin, mauve des Juifs, épinard égyptien, gombo de brousse; Gourmantche: minapuopuoma, oyo, tibagnalifare; Hausa: láálò, malafia, tùrgúnùùwáá; Holly: eyo, obeodundun, obeyofunfun, obeyoloyo; Idatcha: yoyo; Ife: ayoyo; Kisii: omotere; Kotokoli: ayoyo; Luhya: omurere; Luo: apoth; Mahi: nennuwi, ninnou; Ndebele: idelele; Northern Soto: thelele; Nyanga: tindingoma; Otammari: tifaanti; Oueme: nenoun; Shona: nyenje, gusha; Sierra Leone: crain crain; Songhai: fakohoy; South African languages: telele, delele and gushe; Sudanese Arabic: khudra; Swahili: mlende; Tchabe: ooyo; Tonga: delele, cikombo bbuyu; Tsonga (Shangaan): guxe; Wama: sekefeman, yoyora, yroyrogou.

Moringa: (Moringa oleifera) Adia: kpashima; Adje: drele; Aizo: celiman, yovokpatin; Bariba: yuru ara, yorwata yoroguma, goratonou, waguiri; Boko: worousolola, woso; Cotafon: kpatovi, kpatovigbe; Dendi: windi boundou; English: moringa, horseradish tree, drumstick tree, sujuna, ben tree, ben oil tree; Fon: kpatima, yovokpatin, kpano, yovotin, kpanuman, kpanuyedede; French: ben ailé, ben oléifère, benzolive, arbre radis du cheval; Giriama: muzungi; Gourmantche: bouloubouli, ganbaaga; Gun: èkwè kpatin, kpajima; Hausa: jagalandi, bàgààrúúwár ÞMásàr, barambo, karaukin zaila, mákkà, ríímín násárà, sàmààrín dángáá, shùùkà hálíí, taɓa ni ka saamuu, zóógálé; Idatcha: langalanga, langali; Ife: ayinyere; Mahi: kpalouman, yovokpatin; Mina: yovo vigbe, yovo kpati; Oueme: yovokpatin; Saxwe: kotba; Swahili: mzunze, mlonge, mjungu moto, mboga chungu, shingo; Tchabe: agunmonliye, lagalaga; Yoruba and Nago: ewè igbale, ewè ile, ewè oyibo, agun oyibo, ayun manyieninu, ayèrè oyibo; Wama: masamanbu, yorikungufa.

Pumpkin leaves: (Cucurbita moschata) Francais: feuilles de citrouille; Holly: aguidi; Kisii: omuongo; Luhya: lisebebe; Luo: budho; Northern Soto: mophotse; Swahili: malenge; Tsonga (Shangaan): tinwembe; Zulu: intanga.

Spider plant: (Cleome gynandra): Adja: sabo; Bariba: garsia; Bembe: lubanga; Cotafon: kaya; Dendi: foulbe; Fon: akaya; Giriama: mwangani; French: plante-araignée, phalangère; Holly: djen’dje, effooko; Idatcha: efo; Ife: akaya, efun; Kalenjin: saget; Kamba: mwianzo; Kikuyu: thagiti; Kipsigis: isakyat; Lozi: sishungwa; Luganda: jjobyu; Luhya: tsisaka; Luo: alot-dek; Lusoga: yobyu; Maasai: lemba-e-nabo; Mahi: akaya: Marakwet: sachan, suroyo; Meru: munyugunyugu; Ndebele: elude; Nyanza: suntha; Okiek: isakiat; Pokot: suriyo, suriya, karelmet; Rendille: bekeila-ki-dakhan; Sabaot: sakiantet; Samburu: sabai, lasaitet; Sanya: mwangani; Setswana: lothue; Shona: nyeve, runi; Somali: jeu-gurreh; Swahili: mwangani, mgagani; Tonga: shungwa; Tsonga (Shangaan): bangala, xibangala; Wama: garsia.

Stinging nettle: (Urtica massaica) French: grande ortie, ortie élevée; Kikuyu: thabai

Notes to broadcasters

Script

Acknowledgements

Information sources

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