FACTSHEETS FOR FARMERS

Created in Malawi, February 2016 www.plantwise.org Trichodesma zeylanicum

Recognize the problem Flowering plant of African borage. Family: Boraginaceae (comfrey family) (Photo by Mark Marathon, Wikimedia) Common names: African borage, late weed, camel bush, cattle bush, jilarga, rough bluebell

Chichewa: Chilungumwamba

An annual herbaceous plant (30-40 cm tall) or occasionally a shrub (up to 100 cm high); with many side branches; bristly and hairy with a robust tap root; spiny hairs tend to break off in the skin when handled.

Leaves: Green, covered in spiny hairs giving them a sandpapery feel; with conspicuous veins below; narrow and tapering to point to egg-shaped (3.5-10.5 cm long and 0.7-2 cm wide), narrowed towards the base, placed opposite each other near the base of the stem and alternate higher on the plant, inconspicuous leaf stalk. Flower of African borage. (Photo by Flowers: Pale blue (occasionally white), with a white centre, single (15-20 mm across) Pete Hill, www.flickr.com) with long pedicel, hanging from long flower stalks.

Fruits: Capsules (dry fruit that opens at maturity), brown, four chambered, each containing one seed.

Seeds: 3-angled, mottled with grey and brown on the outer surface (3-4 mm long). Background Origin: East and Southern Africa, Asia and Australasia.

Introduction: Accidentally as a contaminant.

Habitat: Tropical regions.

Spread: Spread by animals and whirl wind.

Invades: Crop fields, disturbed ground, roadsides and sandy river beds.

Impacts: The weed competes with and replaces native vegetation. In crops, particularly beans, groundnuts, maize, cotton and sorghum, it competes in the latter stages of crop growth with serious infestations preventing harvest. Seeds germinate in very large numbers after the first weeding, forcing farmers to weed twice more in the growing season to ensure good yields. In parts of Zimbabwe, weeding African borage (together with a few other weedy species) increases yields by 52 and 117 kg/ha in cotton and maize, respectively. Land preparation is made considerably more difficult when this weed is present, due to the bulbous-based spiny hairs lodging in the skin during manual control activities. It is apparently also toxic to livestock.

Scientific name(s) > Trichodesma zeylanicum

The recommendations in this factsheet are relevant to: All Countries

Authors: CABI. Edited by David Kamangira, Elisa Mazuma, Rose Mkandawire, Amos Ngwira Chitedze Agricultural Research Station Edited by Plantwise. tel: +265 1 767222 email: [email protected]

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