Bothriocline longipes (Oliv. & Hiern.) N.E. Br. ASTERACEAE Rainer W. Bussmann, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, and Grace N. Njoroge Synonyms Bothriocline longipes (Oliv. & Hiern.) N.E. Br.: Bothriocline eupatorioides (Hutsch. & B.L. Burtt) Wild. & G.V. Pope, Bothriocline schimperi var. longipes Oliv. & Hiern, Bothrocline schimperi var. tomentosa Oliv. & Hiern, Bothriocline tomentosa (Oliv. & Hiern) Willd. & G.V. Pope, Erlangea eupatorioides Hutsch. & B.L. Burtt, Erlangea longipes (Oliv. & Hiern) S. Moore, Erlangea pubescens S. Moore, Erlangea spissa S. Moore, Erlangea squarrulosa Chiov., Erlangea tomentosa (Oliv. & Hiern) S. Moore, Erlangea tomentosa var. acuta R.E. Fr. Local Names Bothriocline longipes: Shambaa: Boha, Mtuyu, Luhya: Matendi, Chagga: Maurie, Samburu: Lodoporo (Kokwaro 2009). R. W. Bussmann (*) Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia e-mail: rainer.bussmann@iliauni.edu.ge N. Y. Paniagua-Zambrana Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia Herbario Nacionál de Bolivia, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia G. N. Njoroge Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. W. Bussmann (ed.), Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Africa, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38386-2_27 223 224 R. W. Bussmann et al. Botany and Ecology Bothriocline longipes (Oliv. & Hiern.) N.E. Br.: A slender to bushy, long-lived annual or perennial herb, 0.2–1 m tall. Stems leafy, sparsely to much-branched in the upper part, becoming stout and woody at the base to 2 cm in diameter, strongly ribbed at least above, pilose and glandular, the hairs flagelliform, branches spreading, to 40 cm long. Leaves alternate, sessile or subsessile, mostly 3–14  0.8–4 cm, narrowly oblong to elliptic or ovate-oblong, apex obtuse, base rounded to sub-cordate or less often cuneate, margins subentire to serrate sometimes coarsely remote or dentate-lobed, shortly pilose or pubescent,  sparsely so on the upper surface, hairs flagelliform. Capitula many, laxly corymbiform cymose, stalks slender, 0.3–9 cm long. Involucres 5–7  9–15 mm, broadly campanulate. Phyllaries numerous, lanceolate, the innermost lorate, all tapering acuminate and  bristleUpped, margins narrowly subhyaline and finely pectinate towards the apex, pilose and glandular,  obscurely 3-nerved, the outer from 2 mm long, the inner to 7 mm long. Corollas purple to dark-mauve, to 6 mm long, narrowly funnel-shaped, the lobes with short acicular-setae and a few flagelliform hairs, limb and tube glandular outside. Achenes numerous, 1.2–1.8 mm long, narrowly oblong-ovoid, 4-ribbed, rugulose and with globose glandular trichomes sunk in pits between the ribs, sparsely setulose or glabrous except for glands, pappus of caducous sub-plumose bristles 3–4 mm long. Very common in the undergrowth of Podocarpus and Olea dominated Afromontane forests (Bussmann 2006a) (Figs. 1 and 2). Local Medicinal Uses Bothriocline longipes: Roots and leaves are crushed, and the extract drunk as antiemetic. Leaf paste is applied to sores caused by maggots. Raw roots are chewed for sore throat, a leaf decoction drunk for malaria treatment (Kokwaro 2009). A leaf decoction serves for fever and can also be used as purgative to vomit in cases of Fig. 1 Bothriochline longipes (Asteraceae), Mt. Kenya National Park, Naro Moru, Kenya. (Photo R.W. Bussmann) Bothriocline longipes (Oliv. & Hiern.) N.E. Br. 225 Fig. 2 Bothriochline longipes (Asteraceae), flowers, Mt. Kenya National Park, Naro Moru, Kenya. (Photo R.W. Bussmann) malaria. It is also used to wash babies to give them strength (Bussmann 2006b). The roots of Bothriocline schimperi are chewed and applied externally for stomach problems (Giday et al. 2009). Local Handicraft and Other Uses Bothriocline longipes: The species is eaten by livestock, and the branches are used in construction of huts, and for firewood (Bussmann 2006b). References Bussmann RW. Vegetation zonation and nomenclature of African Mountains – an overview. Lyonia. 2006a;111:41–66. Bussmann RW. Ethnobotany of the Samburu of Mt. Nyiru, South Turkana, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2006b;2:35. Giday M, Asfaw Z, Woldu Z. Medicinal plants of the Meinit ethnic group of Ethiopìa: an ethnobotanical study. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009;124:513–21. Kokwaro JO. Medicinal plants of East Africa. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press; 2009.