MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS USED BY THE TOPNAAR - NAMIBIA

The study of the medicinal and aromatic plants used by the Topnaar is part of an ethnobotanical survey of the Namib desert that was carried out by the authors in 1992. To obtain data, all Topnaar families living in the Namib desert were visited. In this paper, a list of interesting plant species is produced (including plant name, systematic classification and ethnobotanical properties). Several plants were analysed for active substances. Some preliminary results are presented and discussed.