Xylopia aethiopica

NAMES

Etso / So / Chimba / Kimba / Kili / Djar / Grains of selim / Senegal pepper / Ethiopian pepper / ...

also referred to as "Negro pepper"

Xylopia aethiopica

Café Touba Sénégal

Xylopia aethiopica leaves

Xylopia aethiopica tree bark

Botanical Notes

Xylopia aethiopica grows in tropical zones of Africa, from Ghana to Ethiopia. Its tree gets up to 18 meters height and 70 centimeters large. The fruits look like small bean pods and each contain 5 to 8 small seeds.

Culinary Uses

T The pods of Xylopia aethiopica are used whole, as the hull of the fruit has an aromatic taste similar to cubeb pepper and nutmeg and the seeds are pungent. In Senegal, they are smoked and added to the café Touba, a common way of drinking coffee in Senegal. A paste is produced from the pods and seeds to season fish. The Ga of Ghana use the pods Xylopia aethiopica to prepare a pepper sauce called shito, while the Dagbombas of the same country use it in spicing coco.

Medicinal & Cultural Uses

The stem bark, seeds and leaves of Xylopia aethiopica all find use in herbal medicine. In Ghana, these are used to make a decoction that helps treat rheumatism and bronchial troubles.

Further information

Library

1 / Morphohistological Studies of Two Plant Species Used in Ethnomedicine

Ameyaw, Y, and E Owusu-Ansah. n.d. “Morphohistological Studies of Two Plant Species Used in Ethnomedicine.”

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