Alepidea amatymbica (kalmoes)
Medicinal Plant from the Healing Plant Collective

This is a well known plant used to treat chest ailments and general colds. It is also used for asthma, influenza, and abdominal cramps. Roots and rhizomes of Alepidea amatymbica are chewed, ingested as part of an infusion, used as snuff or burned and inhaled. 


The flowering stalk of this pretty little perennial is hollow and can get up to two metres in height. A. amatymbica, located in the Eastern Cape and southern KZN, is used in the same way as A. cordifolia, a species found further north from Lesotho through to Zimbabwe.

The medicinal value of Alepidea amatymbica is attributed to the presence of organic acids. Antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antiphlogistic, astringent and antimutagenic effects are therefore benefits. Diuretic and cardiovascular activity is due to kaurene derivatives.

Information largely taken from “Medicinal Plants of South Africa”, 2009.


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