Common Names: Desert Rose, Milkweed Vine, Greenhood Orchid, Bove's Greenhood
Local Names: Taarin-gidaa,Tatarida (Hausa, Nigeria), Gobble daurobe (Fula-fulfulde, Nigeria), Um al-Hasak (Arabic, Sudan)
Species ID: NMP-076 | wfo-0000704044 | NCBI_Taxonomy ID: 185221

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Gentianales

Family: Apocynaceae

Genus: Glossonema

Species: G. boveanum

Authority: (Decne.) Decne.

Synonyms: Cynanchum boveanum Decne., Glossonema affine N.E.Br., Glossonema echinatum Hochst. ex Di Capua, Glossonema erlangeri K.Schum., Odontanthera boveana (Decne.) Mabb.

Glossonema boveanum is an evergreen, perennial herb or subshrub in the Apocynaceae family, typically growing up to 30–50 cm tall:

·       Stem: Erect or sprawling, succulent, glabrous or slightly pubescent, often branching from the base (Burkill, 1985).

·       Leaves: Opposite, linear to lanceolate, 3–7 cm long, 0.5–1.5 cm wide, fleshy, with a waxy surface (Fern, 2024).

·       Flowers: Small, white to pale yellow, 5–10 mm in diameter, in axillary clusters; corolla 5-lobed, star-shaped (Field, 1982).

·       Fruit: Follicles, paired, 5–8 cm long, containing numerous seeds with silky hairs (Rapini, 2003).

Glossonema boveanum is native to arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and the Middle East, not South Africa as previously suggested:

·       Range: West Africa (Nigeria, Niger), East Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia), Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Saudi Arabia) (Burkill, 1985; Fern, 2024).

·       Habitat: Sandy deserts, rocky hillsides, dry riverbeds; thrives in hot, dry climates with 100–400 mm annual rainfall (Collenette, 1999).

Glossonema boveanum has been traditionally employed to address various ailments, including pelvic inflammatory disease, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hemorrhoids.  Phytochemical investigations have revealed the presence of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, steroids, triterpenes, cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins, and flavonoids. Notably, betulinic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene with recognized antimicrobial properties, has been isolated from its stem bark. The plant exhibits significant antimicrobial activity against pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans.

These findings support the traditional use of Glossonema boveanum in managing various infections and highlight its potential as a source of therapeutic agents.

·       Antipyretic: Leaf infusions in Sudan treat fevers; methanol extract (200 mg/kg) reduced fever in rats by 1.5°C (Khalid et al., 2012).

·       Respiratory Relief: Decoctions in Nigeria for coughs and colds.

·       Diuretic: Roots in in Nigeria are used for kidney issues and urinary infections.

·       Anti-inflammatory: Leaf paste in Ethiopia for swelling.

·       Antimicrobial: Antimicrobial study of the extracts showed activities against Staphylococus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhii, Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans while Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumoniae showed resistance to all the extracts (Uttu et al., 2017).

⚠  Toxicity Profile: Mild toxicity reported; latex contains cardenolides, potentially causing nausea or cardiac effects at high doses (Burkill, 1985; Khalid et al., 2012).

·       Culinary: Young leaves and fruits eaten raw or cooked in Sudan and Nigeria during scarcity (Burkill, 1985).

·       Ornamental: Grown for its attractive foliage and flowers in arid gardens (Collenette, 1999).

·       Fodder: Used as emergency livestock feed in Yemen (Fern, 2024).

• Burkill, H. M. (1985). The useful plants of West Tropical Africa (Vol. 1). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

• Collenette, S. (1999). Wildflowers of Saudi Arabia. National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development.

• Fern, K. (2024). Glossonema boveanum. Useful Tropical Plants Database. Retrieved from http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Glossonema+boveanum

• Field, D. V. (1982). The identity of Odontanthera Wight (Asclepiadaceae) with notes on Glossonema Decne. and Conomitra Fenzl. Kew Bulletin, 37(2), 341–347.

• Khalid, H., Abdalla, W. E., Abdelgadir, H., Opatz, T., & Efferth, T. (2012). Gems from traditional North African medicine: Medicinal and aromatic plants from Sudan. Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 2(3), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13659-012-0015-2

• Rapini, A. (2003). Asclepiadeae classification: Evaluating the phylogenetic relationships of New World Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae). Taxon, 52(1), 33–50.

• Uttu, A. J., & Waziri, M. (2017). Phytochemical and antimicrobial studies of root back extracts from Glossonema boveanum (Decne). African Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, 9(2), 112-118.

• Green Institute - Glossonema boveanum

• JSTOR - Glossonema boveanum

• Useful Tropical Plants - Glossonema boveanum

• α-amyrin acetate
• Betulinic acid
• 3β- lup-20(29)-en-3ol (Lupeol)

Sallau, M. S., Uttu, A. J., Ibrahim, H., Idris, A. Y., & Dama, H. J. (2016). Isolation of a major antimicrobial compound from stem bark of Glossonema boveanum (Decne). British Biotechnology Journal, 16(2), 1-10.

Shehu, S., Abubakar, M. S., Musa, A. M., Tajuddeen, N., & Zakariya, A. M. (2015). Isolation and characterization of two pentacyclic triterpenoids from Glossonema boveanum Decne (Apocynaceae). African Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, 7(2), 72-76.