• Commonly occurring in the savannah grasslands of South Africa, this perennial herb is also known as ishongwe in Zulu, Xysmalobium undulatum to scientists and bitterwortel in Afrikaans; describing the extremely bitter tasting root.
• Adult plants grow to about a meter in height, it creates leather- like leaves that curl at the leaf's edge. Uzara's hardy roots contain a compound called "uzarin" is prized in Europe as a herbal antidiarrhoeal remedy
• In South Africa it is used for a range of ailments including a snuff for headaches, stomach cramps, diarrhea and colds and coughs
• The root can also be ground into a powder and used to treat hides.
• When broken the stems and leaves yield a white milky latex like substance, which can be used to treat warts and other skin ailments
• Uzara distributes itself by creating a set of hairy capsules which split open releasing fluffy white seed that are distributed by the wind. It is happy to grow in a number of soil types, including hard dry conditions, making it sometimes difficult to harvest the prized root.

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Its spring time in the Southern Hemisphere, and to commemorate this miraculous change of season Fevertree has done some article spring cleaning. Look out for new pictures in our articles.

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