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Ghana118 J. Sci. 61 (2), 2020, 118 - 132 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCEhttps://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjs.v61i2.12VOL. 61

DIVERSITY OF POISONOUS AND THEIR , AFFECTING RUMINANT PRODUCTION ON RANGELANDS IN GHANA

C. Y. F. Domozoro*, C. C. Wilcock, M. D. Swaine And A. H. Price (C. Y. F. D.:UK Corresponding Author: current Address, CSIR – Animal Research Institute, P. O. Box AH20, Achimota, Accra, Ghana; C. C. W., M. D. S. & A. H.P.: School of Biologi- cal Science, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, UK). *Corresponding author’s email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The survival of the extensive livestock system, the practice for most farmers in the livestock industry in Ghana depends heavily on the natural pastures as forage resource. To efficiently use the rangelands, knowledge of the species composition, especially that of poisonous plants is essential. Documented knowledge in Ghana is scanty; documentation and dissemination of the knowledge resource would enable a wider access and wider benefit to stakeholders. A study was conducted in Ghana on poisonous plants with the aim to discover the existence and diversity of poisonous plants and associated antidotes affecting livestock for documentation and preservation of knowledge. 70 different items were cited; 22 were poisonous plants for which antidotes were not cited, 28 were poisonous plants with known antidotes and 32 antidotes. There were 575 citations of plants from 194 reported cases of suspected , categorized as poisonous plants for which no antidotes were cited (146), poisonous plants with cited antidotes (147) and antidotes (282). 50 plants species were identified and belonged to 29 plant families. Some plants were known only by local names. There was an extensive knowledge of the diversity of poisonous plants and antidotes within the ecological zones along with possible antidotes.

Keywords: Poisonous plants, livestock, Indigenous knowledge, diversity, Ghana, Rangelands

Introduction 1991). Ethnoecology was introduced (Toledo, Documenting indigenous environmental 1992) later in the same light of describing and knowledge has for some time now, become finding use for the knowledge resource. The a growing concern. The acronym TEK, profusion of acronyms and headings suggests which stands for “Traditional Environmental the rapid emergence of this perspective within Knowledge” (Williams, Baines, & Brownlee, several independent academic networks 1993) has become widely used to describe (Hunn, 1999). environmental knowledge attributable to The focus of science and research has indigenous people, as has IK – Indigenous been to integrate IK as a key to sustainable Knowledge (D. W. Brokensha, Warren, & development (D. Brokensha & Warren, Werner, 1980; Cunningham, 1991; Warren, 1980; Chambers, Pacey, & Thrupp, 1989;

GJS is an Open Access Journal and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC) License [CC BY 4.0] VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 119

Erdelen, 2002; Homann & Rischkowsky, In competitive systems, the livestock obtain 2001; Warren, 1989). As a consequence, a a substantial proportion of their dietary needs wealth of information on IK pertaining to from rangelands and pastures of the country soils, plants and animals has been compiled and it is not uncommon to find poisonous (Bizimana, 1994). Nevertheless, examples of plants growing on cultivated or natural, the integration of IK into the research process and private or public grazing lands (James, and its application within the development Nielsen, & Panter, 1992). Poisonous plants on context remain scarce as rightly observed by rangelands have socio-economic effects and Homann & Rischkowsky (2001). impacts the livestock industry in various ways. Changing landscape, especially in Due to the elusive, hard-to-define, almost agriculture and general deforestation, affects impossible-to-count nature of the problem, it the composition of plant and animal species. has made it very difficult to set an actual value In the case of agriculture and poisonous plants, on the economic losses sustained because of the effect of deteriorating rangelands from livestock poisoning due to plant ingestion, grazing pressure on some wild species may however, it is generally recognized as one of pave way for the spread of undesirable and/or the most important economic impediments to poisonous plant species because the resulting profitable livestock production (James et al., niche may favour the latter, increasing their 1992). For an efficient use of the rangelands, abundance and the associated problems. On the a good knowledge of the species composition, contrary, renewable resources including plant especially that of the poisonous plants is species that are valuable to rural communities, essential. Documented knowledge of such including antidotes to poisonous plants, may plants is scanty in Ghana; the CSIR-Animal face extinction from over exploitation and Research Institute attempted a study aimed at deforestation (Kiringe, 2005; Southgate & documenting poisonous plants on rangelands Sanders, 1990) and the effects of changing in Ghana around 1970 - 1975 (annual reports), climate may threaten the survival of vital flora but has no records of the findings. Preceding and fauna and, by extension, the people who this work, Irvine, assisted by Dokosi (Irvine, depend on the ecosystem for their survival. 1961), and later Persistent rising temperatures, changing Dokosi alone (Dokosi, 1998) in their rainfall patterns and seasons and increasing general accounts of the woody plants of grazing pressures on natural pastures resulting Ghana and Herbs of Ghana respectively, also from some degrading communal grazing fields list plants reported as poisonous in Ghana. stemming from poor management practices A documentation of existing information and opening up of the country to transhumant specifically on poisonous plants and the livestock movements, put pressure on livestock industry and dissemination of such resource availability, especially the botanical knowledge resource would enable a wider composition of the rangelands that support the access and a wider benefit to stakeholders. system. The aim of this study was to expand the existing The survival of the extensive livestock information and diversity of poisonous plants system which is the practice for most farmers in affecting livestock production on Ghanaian the livestock industry in Ghana depends heavily rangelands and document them as a means on the natural pastures as a forage resource. of preservation of knowledge to augment 120 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61 plant information on livestock health services livestock provided. An incident of plant and management of the productivity of the poisoning with possible strategy(ies) for rangelands. managing the situation, while items listed in a report as potentially poisonous to livestock, an Experimental or other, represents a citation. Several Ghana is situated on the west coast of Africa, materials could be cited in a report. At the extending from latitude 41/2 N to about latitude end of interviews, respondents could choose o o 1 o 11 N and between longitudes 1⅟2 E to 3 /2 W between two options to provide plant and/or with a total area of 238 540 km2. The country other material samples cited in discussion; has a north-south extent of about 670 km and a either taking the author to the field to fetch maximum east-west extent of about 560 km. It the plant or going alone to obtain samples, shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina which were brought back to the author. Faso to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Voucher specimens of plants cited were and Togo to the east. To the south are the Gulf pressed with the aid of a field press to absorb of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. excess moisture and preserve plants in good Ecologically, Ghana is diverse, but the forest, condition for later study. The pressed material savannah, and rainfall distribution are the was labelled with collection date, local name, dominant factors affecting activities location and recorded use ( or antidote). (Dickson & Benneh, 1970; Owen, ; Phillips). Voucher specimens have been deposited at the The Vegetation consists of hardwoods and University of Aberdeen Herbarium (ABD) and scattered trees and secondary climbers, the Animal Research Institute, Ghana. shrubs, and soft woody plants. In addition to The plants were identified using Irvine the scattered trees and secondary vegetation, (1961) & Dokosi (1998) and confirmed by some grass species have appeared to form a comparing them with herbarium specimens in derived savannah. The wooded savannah, the the Ghana Herbarium, University of Ghana. largest vegetation zone, consists mostly of Occasionally specimens provided did not have grasses and acacias (Dickson & Benneh, 1970; enough features for a conclusive identification Harvey). The grasses are sensitive to trampling and some respondents provided local names; by livestock and to selective grazing and are but could not provide species names, these replaced easily by less nutritious grasses and remained unidentified and have been noted by acacias and thickets. in the results. Nomenclature follows the A structured questionnaire interview African flowering plants database (2008), was conducted in 2003 with respondents from the International Plant Names Index (2008) three zones in Ghana (northern zone, middle and the Germplasm Resources Information belt and southern zone) pooled together for the Network (GRIN, 2007). study with major stakeholders in the livestock Data collected from respondents industry in Ghana. All persons selected for the gathered was compared with information study gave their oral informed consent prior to gathered from previous surveys/reports in their inclusion in the study. Irvine (1961), Abbiw (1990) & Dokosi (1998). One respondent could provide more Data available in the literature from other than one report, depending on the number sources on the plants were secured using of different accounts of plant poisoning of National Centre for Biotechnology Information VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 121

(NBCI, 1988), African flowering plants of stakeholders were consulted viz peasant database (2008) and general online search livestock farmers, commercial livestock engines such as Google. PC-ord programme farmers, herbalists and the extensionists/ was used for assessment of attenuation of new veterinarians. There were zonal variations in species added with each new reported case the representation of gender, cohabitations, of plant poisoning and SPSS version 16, was and educational attainments of respondents used for cross tabulations of information. but in general, the majority of respondents were males and married. About half of the Results respondents had no form of formal education; Socio economic backgrounds of informants while the rest had various attainments from The distribution of respondents across the basic education to tertiary. Efforts were zones (Fig. 1) as well as various socio-economic made to have representations of the various classifications are shown inTable 1. Out of 194 occupational groups; however, the middle reports across the country, 115 were located in zone was deficient in the commercial livestock the northern zone, 37 in the middle belt and 42 farmers and extensionist/ veterinarians. in the southern zone. Four occupational groups 122 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61

Paga Sandema Duori Dafiama Navorongo Northern

Duong Zone

Wa Busa Pong Saboba Bamaaho Tamale Wechau Chegban Tampekukuo i Nyankpala Tamale Mole national Park

Middle zone

Ohianinguase Mensin Mawuanins Mprim Agyei krom o

Pokoase BaabiAgbekotsikpo Minya KojokroDonkokro Kasoa m m

Southern Zone

Fig. 1 Map of Ghana indicating zonal demarcation and location of study sites. The green mark-ups indicate locations of aggregated communities in a zone where studies were conducted and community names have been placed near mark-ups. Map obtained by Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin. VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 123

TABLE 1 Distribution of respondents across occupational groups, zones, gender, marital status and educational attainments. Zone Occupation Sex Marital status Education Level To- tal Male Female Single Married Non Basic/ Tertiary Second- ary Northern Peasant 44 24 0 68 44 11 13 68 zone livestock farmers Com- 24 0 0 24 20 4 0 24 mercial livestock farmers Herbalists 5 0 0 5 4 1 0 5 Extension- 17 1 1 17 0 0 18 18 ist/ veteri- narian Zone 90 25 1 114 68 16 31 115 Total Middle Peasant 9 4 0 13 6 7 13 Belt livestock farmers Herbalist 22 2 0 24 7 15 2 24 Zone 31 6 0 37 13 22 2 37 Total Southern Peasant 13 12 3 22 10 15 0 25 zone livestock farmers Com- 0 9 0 9 9 0 0 9 mercial livestock farmers Herbalists 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 Extension- 4 3 7 0 0 0 7 7 ist/ veteri- narian Zone 18 24 10 32 19 16 7 42 Total

Grand 139 55 11 183 100 53 40 194 Total

Poisonous Plants and Antidotes forms completed). The Sorensen (Bray- One hundred and ninety-four (194) reported Curtis) species area curve shows the cases of poisonous plants were studied from change in the number of new species to the 90 interviewed respondents (questionnaire cumulative number of reports (Fig. 2). The 124 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61 number of new species added to attained 2) and 32 antidotes (TABLE 3). Two plant information on poisonous plants affecting species (Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum. ruminant livestock (, and ) and Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) had different approached a minimum beyond 100 reports plant parts functioning as antidote and and contributions of fresh information beyond to livestock. Ten materials were cited with what had been obtained at that point from new more than one function (either as a poisonous reports continuously became minimal. A total plant with/without a known antidote or an of 42 poisonous plants were reported and of antidote); none was, however, found with all these, 37 were identified to species or . three categories of plant groups. The dominant poisonous plant families encountered were the Fabaceae (9), (6), (6), Urticaceae (2) and Apocynaceae (2). All other poisonous plant families encountered had single species. About half the cited poisonous plants cited (20) were native to Ghana or the African continent while with the rest were introduced. Erythrophleoum Fig. 2: Cumulative increase in the total number of suaveolens, and Erythrophleum africannum new plants cited (poisonous plants and antidotes) with increasing number of reports; based on the Sorensen both poisonous plants were reported in their (Bray-Curtis) species-area curve analysis. Error bars respective habitats; E. suaveolens in the denote standard deviations of mean new species. south and middle belt and E. africanum in the northern savanna (northern zone). 575 citations from 194 reported cases of The largest plant family representation suspected plant poisoning categorized as of antidotes were the Fabaceae (3) and poisonous plants for which no antidotes Euphorbiaceae (2). All other identified plant were cited (146), poisonous plants with cited families used as antidotes to plant poisoning antidotes (147) and antidotes (282). There were had single species cited. 50 identified plant species belonging to 29 plant The northern zone respondents cited 26 families. Fourteen plant species were known different species of poisonous plant. Within this only by local names because they could not be zone the following poisonous plants species identified due to the lack of specimens. Some were cited more than ten times, Erythrophleum antidotes to plant poisoning (e.g., ear cutting africanum (35), Ochna rhizomatosa (19), treatment, saltpetre solution, smoked cobwebs Cleome viscosa (17), Boerhavia erecta (15), and sodium chloride solution) were not Zea mays (14), Sorghum sp. (12), Stillingea classed as plants; others such as charcoal were sylvatica (11), Moringa oleifera (11), not specific to any plant species. Mushrooms, Lepisanthes senegalensis (11) and Anadelphia which were cited as treatable poisons, had no afzeliana (11). samples for further identification. In total, 70 In the middle belt, 18 poisonous different items were cited (plants and non- plant species were cited. Hillaria latifolia plants); there were 22 poisonous plants for (12) was most cited. The southern zone which antidotes were not cited. Twenty-eight respondents cited eight (8) different species poisonous plants with known antidotes (TABLE of poisonous plants however, none of them VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 125

was cited more than 10 times. Antidotes as antidotes to plant poisoning. Of these cited (18) in the northern zone had varying infusions of bark (10), and frequencies of citation; saltpetre solution (50), Elaeis guineensis oil (27) were cited the most. Vitelleria paradoxa (29), ear cutting practice The southern zone had 7 items or practices (15), sodium chloride solution (13), Elaeis as antidotes to plant poisoning of ruminant guineensis (12), and Khaya sp. (11). Similarly, livestock. Of these, Elaeis guineensis pulp oil the middle belt recorded 15 items or practices had the highest frequency (15) of citations.

TABLE 2 Citation of poisonous plants across Ghana, with records of poisoning in relevant references set in Ghana. Other references provide reported cases of toxic properties in plants not cited by local authors. Frequencies represent citations within zone (MB = Middle belt, NZ = northern Zone, SZ = southern zone) of each plant. S/N Frequency Reference Poisonous Plant Reported Family (Irvine, (Doko- plant origin part MB NZ SZ Total Other 1961) si, 1998) 1 Akwatia es- Not identified Shoot 8 8 iesieson (Twi) 2 (Vick- Albizia coriaria ery & Fabaceae Native Leaf 2 2 √ Welw. Vickery, 1979) 3 (Agra, Baracho, Laportea oval- Nurit, Southern ifolia (Shum. Urticaceae Shoot 4 4 Basílio, America And Thonn) & Coelho, 2007) 4 Anadelphia Poaceae Native Shoot 11 11 afzeliana Stapf. 5 (Vick- Balanites ery & aegyptiacus Zygophyllaceae Native 2 2 √ Vickery, Delile 1979) 6 Boerhavia Nyctaginaceae Native Shoot 15 15 √ erecta L 7 Bomere Poaceae Shoot 2 2 (Fulani) 8 Bryophyllum Madagas- pinnatum (Lam.) Crassulaceae Shoot 4 4 √ car Oken 9 Cassia sp. Fabaceae Shoot 2 2 √ 10 (Prasad, Chromolaena Naraya- North odorata (L.) na, Jaya- Asteraceae & South Shoot 2 6 8 R.M. King & kumar, & America H Rob. Srikanth, 2005) 11 Pan- Cleome viscosa tropical/ (Iltis, Capparaceae Shoot 17 17 √ L. Tropical 1960) Asia 12 Crotalaria Fabaceae Native Shoot 2 2 √ retusa L. 13 Elaeis guineen- Arecaceae Native Leaves 2 2 √ sis Jacq. 126 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61

S/N Frequency Reference Poisonous Plant Reported Family (Irvine, (Doko- plant origin part MB NZ SZ Total Other 1961) si, 1998) 14 Erythrophleum (Vick- africanum ery & Fabaceae Native Shoot 35 35 √ (Welw.ex Benth) Vickery, Harms 1979) 15 Erythrophleum (Vick- suaveolens ery & Fabaceae Native Shoot 5 5 √ (Guill. & Perr) Vickery, Brenan 1979) 16 Euphorbia arbuscula Euphorbiaceae Yamen Shoot 2 2 Balf. F. 17 Ficus exaspera- Moraceae Native Shoot 6 1 7 √ ta Vahl 18 (Rikin, Atsmon, Gossypium sp. Malvaceae Exotic Seeds 9 9 & Gitler, 1980) 19 Hilleria latifolia South Phytolacaceae Shoot 12 1 13 √ (Lam.) H. Walt America 20 Icacina senega- Icacinaceae Native Roots 3 3 √ lensis A Juss 21 Jatropha Euphorbiaceae Exotic Shoot 1 2 3 √ curcas L 22 Kpaang muor Not identified Shoot 6 2 8 23 (Burkill, Lepisanthes 1985; senegalensis Vick- (Poir.) Leenh. (= Sapindaceae Native Shoot 11 11 √ ery & Aphania senega- Vickery, lensis Radlk.) 1979) 24 (Vick- Manihot escu- South ery & Euphorbiaceae 1 2 8 11 √ lentum Crantz America Vickery, 1979) 25 Mareya mi- crantha (Benth.) Euphorbiaceae Native Shoot 1 1 √ Müll.Arg. 26 Mimosa pudica Pantrop- Fabaceae Shoot 1 1 √ L. ical 27 Indian Moringa oleif- Moringaceae subconti- 11 11 √ era Lam. nent 28 Mushroom Not identified 3 3 29 (Panter, Nicotiana South James, & Shoot 2 1 3 tabacum L. America Gardner, 1999) 30 Nyadoro Poaceae Leaves 2 2 31 Ochna rhi- zomatosa (Van Ochnaceae Native Shoot 19 19 √ Tiegh.) Keay 32 Pouzolzia guineensis Urticaceae Native Shoot 5 1 6 √ Benth. 33 Rauwolfia vomi- Apocynaceae Native Shoot 2 √ tora Afz. 34 Euphorbiaceae Native Shoot 1 1 √ comunis L 35 Senna alata (L.) Southern Roxb (=Cassia Fabaceae Shoot 3 3 √ America alata L.) VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 127

S/N Frequency Reference Poisonous Plant Reported Family (Irvine, (Doko- plant origin part MB NZ SZ Total Other 1961) si, 1998) 36 Senna occiden- talis (L.) Link. Fabaceae Native Shoot 2 2 √ (= Cassia occi- dentalis L ) 37 Setaria palmifo- lia (K.D.Koenig) Poaceae Asia Shoot 8 8 Stapf. 38 (Lau- riault, Sorghum sp. Poaceae Native Seeds 12 12 Sawyer, & Baker, 2003) 39 Stillingia North (BICHY, sylvatica Garden Euphorbiaceae Roots 11 11 America 1985) ex L. 40 Thevetia Neotrop- peruviena (pers). Apocynaceae 7 7 √ ical K Shum. 41 Vigna unguicu- Fabaceae Native Shoot 1 1 lata (L.) Walp. 42 North (Jones, Zea mays L. Poaceae 2 14 16 America 1998) Grand Total 74 198 23 293

TABLE 3 Citation of Antidotes to poisonous plants; frequencies represent citations within zone (MB = Middle belt, NZ = northern Zone, SZ = southern zone) of each plant. S/N References of Curative Frequencies Reported properties Plant species Family Plant Origin Part (Irvine, (Dokosi, MB NZ SZ Total 1961) 1998) 1 cepa L. Alliaceae Bulb Cultivated 2 2 √ 2 Arachis hypogaea L. Fabaceae Seed oil Cultivated 4 4 3 Cardiospermum Sapindaceae Shoot Native 2 2 √ halicacabum L. 4 Ceiba pentandra (L.) Malvaceae Seeds Native 3 3 √ Gaertn. 5 limon (L.) Rutaceae Fruit Cultivated 2 2 √ Burm. f. 6 Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Arecaceae Pulp oil Native 27 12 15 54 √

7 Euphorbia hirta L. (= Chamaesyce hirta Euphorbiaceae Shoot Pantropical 1 1 √ (L.) Millsp.) 8 Ficus capensis Thunb. Moraceae Bark/leaf Native 2 2 √ (=Ficus sur Forssk.) 9 Griffonia simplicifolia Fabaceae Shoot Native 2 2 √ (Vahl. Ex D C.) Bail. 10 Indigofera hirsuta Fabaceae Shoot Native 4 4 √ 11 Khaya sp. Meliaceae Bark 5 11 16 √ 12 Mangifera indica L. Anacardiaceae Bark Exotic 10 10 √ 13 Mareya micrantha Euphorbiaceae Leaf Native 7 7 √ (Benth.) Müll. Arg. 14 Mitragyna inermis Rubiaceae Shoot Native 3 3 √ (Wild.) O. Kuntze 128 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61

S/N References of Curative Frequencies Reported properties Plant species Family Plant Origin Part (Irvine, (Dokosi, MB NZ SZ Total 1961) 1998) 15 North, Persea americana Lauraceae Leaf & South 4 4 √ Mill. America 16 Sansevieria liberica Ruscaceae Leaf Native 3 3 √ Gerome &Labroy 17 Thevetia peruviena Apocynaceae Leaf Neotropical 5 5 √ (Pers.) K. Shum 18 Vetiveria fulvibarbis Poaceae Shoot Native 6 6 (Trin.) Stapf. 19 Vitelleria paradoxa F. Sapotaceae Seed oil Native 4 29 33 √ C Gaertn 20 Bichelinche (Kom- Not identified Shoot 3 3 komba) 21 Chegbani 2 Not identified Shoot 1 1 22 Ikpanbuyi (Kom- Not identified Shoot 3 3 komba) 23 I t i r e ( K o m k o m b a ) Not identified Shoot 6 6 24 K u l u n g ( D a g b a n i ) Not identified Shoot 1 1 25 Linangnal (Kom- Not identified Shoot 3 3 komba) 26 Ogyai Nchini (Twi) Not identified Shoot 2 2 27 Sansaa (Dagaare) Not identified Shoot 3 3 28 Charcoal Other 4 4 29 Ear cutting Other 15 15 30 Saltpetre Solution Other 2 50 4 56 31 Smoked Cobwebs Other 3 3 32 Sodium chloride Other 2 13 4 19 Solution Grand Total 80 170 32 282

Discussion Either Irvine (1961) or Dokosi (1998) have Setaria palmifolia and Vigna unguiculata. already previously reported in Ghana all but This indicates an apparently high level of 11 of the species identified in this study. Of recognition of by the respondents. these 11 previously unreported poisonous This could stem from the fact that respondents plants by these two authors in Ghana, who could not offer any information on any (Laportea ovalifolia, Anadelphia afzeliana, reports of plant poisoning were not included Chromolaena odorata, Euphorbia arbuscula, in the study. Consequently, questionnaires Gossypium sp., Nicotiana tabacum, Seteria that did not contribute any reports (and many palmifolia, Sorghum sp., Stillingia sylvatica, of them were found) on the subject were Vigna unguiculata and Zea mays), only four excluded from the study. It is worth noting that could not be found to have some supporting Chromolaena odorata, is an invasive plant evidence of toxic effect in the literature, viz: introduced into Ghana around 1965 (Hoevers Anadelphia afzeliana, Euphorbia arbuscula, & M'boob, 1993), after fieldwork by Irvine VOL. 61 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 129 and Dokosi had been completed. While the lands in Ghana and efforts were made to list of poisonous plants and antidotes is by no eradicate them from the fields. The current means exhaustive, the information obtained study was undertaken for a shorter period is representative of the locations/zones under than either Irvine (1961) or Dokosi (1998) study and the cumulative citations reports and this may have limited the information show that not much more information resides on poisonous plants and antidotes obtained in the livestock holder communities. Some through questionnaire. These earlier authors preceding authors (Dokosi, 1998; Irvine, included a list of all plants poisonous to 1961) have provided longer lists of poisonous and other animals but this study only plants and antidotes from Ghana. However, recorded plants poisonous to cattle, sheep these workers obtained their data much earlier and goats only. More detailed IK on woody (Irvine, between 1934 - 37 and Dokosi & plants and herbs would require longer survey, Irvine in 1961) at a time when the vegetation perhaps involving many years living among was different from today and changed in informants. Information on poisonous plants climatic conditions. are specialized and some poisonous plants Poisonous plants may have changed may still exist, which the indigenous people in diversity and abundance and the pattern of on the land now, do not yet know about. dependence of people on herbal treatments Commercially available plant resources such might have been greater then due to limited as palm oil (pulp oil from Elaeis guineensis), orthodox medicines at the time. Some of saltpetre, sodium chloride and Vitelleria the areas in this study (e.g. the Upper East paradoxa are widely available across zones region) are notable now for high levels of and have other uses (e.g., in human diets) and environmental degradation, deforestation and are readily used as antidotes. Materials used loss of soil cover, stemming from extremely in human nutrition but which could also have high population densities of both humans and detrimental effects following misapplication livestock that has not been accompanied by in livestock feed e.g., Zea mays, Sorghum sp., agricultural development (Adu, 1972; Anon, Nicotiana tabacum, are often under reported 1983; Benneh, 1973a, 1973b; Blench, 1999; by indigenous people because they find it hard Clacey & Ramsay, 1955; LACOSREP, 2006; to accept the facts that the science presents. Slaymaker & Blench, 2002). These ecological Existing documented knowledge on pressures could increase the exploitation of the poisonous plants, antidotes, affected plant antidotes for medicinal purposes and livestock species remain scattered across for some poisonous plants, the increase in several reference materials; to have them all population densities along with pressures in one document enhances their accessibility associated with tilling smaller farm size make with minimal effort. For those undocumented the poisonous plants, where recognized, easy knowledges, they reside in people who may not targets for eradication from grazing lands by readily share even within the same community. farmers. Others may have been deliberately Identifying such human repositories can be eradicated by non-farmer human activity. a major challenge to the untrained enquirer For instance the CSIR- Animal Research where the time and resources involved in such Institute (Institute, 1977), conducted a project endeavour can be challenging. Considering to identify poisonous plant species on grazing when this study was carried out, some of the 130 GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 61 respondents may have passed on and taken with National Biodiversity Institute: http://www. them these invaluable knowledge resources. ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/ Their knowledge lives in the documentation Agra, M. F., Baracho, G. S., Nurit, K., Basílio, I. J. from their reports, which would further L. D. & Coelho, V. P. M. (2007) Medicinal improve the understanding and management and poisonous diversity of the flora of "Cari- of plant poisoning among livestock on the ri Paraibano", Brazil. Journal of Ethnophar- Ghanaian rangelands. macology 111 (2), 383 - 395.

Acknowledgement ANIMAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (1977) Summa- ry, Annual Report ARI 1976/77 (Annual re- We acknowledge the support provided by the port). Accra, Ghana. government of Ghana through the Agricultural Sub-Sector Investment Project (AgSSIP), Anon (1983) The Northern Region, Ghana. Vol. I. A funded by the World Bank. The project funded descriptive Overview: NORRIP Technical the entire PhD study at the University of Unit. Aberdeen, Scotland. Benneh, G. (1973A) Population and food production in a northern savannah village of Ghana. Conflict of Interest Food and nutrition in Africa (Ghana) 12, The authors declare that they have no conflict 134 - 146. of interest. Benneh, G. (1973B) Water requirements and limita- Ethical standards tions imposed on agricultural development in Northern Ghana. In I. M. Ofori (Ed.), This manuscript does not contain ethical issues Factors of agricultural growth in West Af- and no infraction were made. rica (pp. 71-81). Legon, Ghana: Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research. Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all Bichy, W. (1985) Botanical Medicine Monographs individual participants included in the study and Sundry, analysis of the root of stillingia sylvatica. American Journal of Pharmacy 57 (11). References Abbiw, D. K. (1990) useful plants of ghana - west af- Bizimana, N. (1994) Traditional Veterinary Practice in rican uses of wild and cultivated plants: in- Africa. Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Ge- termediate Technologies Ltd and the Royal sellscaft fur Technische Zusammenaarbeit Botanic Gardens, Kew. (GTZ) BmbH.

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