Boegoe
Encyclopedia
Boegoe is a word of Khoikhoi
origin, which may refer to a number of South Africa
n plants, fungi or a mineral, that were used in traditional preparations. Most Boegoe plants are typified by a strong aromatic odour due to volatile oils
released by glands in the leaves. The name primarily denotes those plant species of which the stems, powdered leaves or volatile oils are employed in herbalism
.
Note: Various similar names are recorded, including Boechoe, Boekoe, Boggoa, Boochoo, Bookoo, Bouchou, Bugu, Buccho, Bucchuu, Bucco, Buchu, iBuchu, Bucku or Buka Leaves, though the names in bold print are best known.
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
origin, which may refer to a number of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n plants, fungi or a mineral, that were used in traditional preparations. Most Boegoe plants are typified by a strong aromatic odour due to volatile oils
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
released by glands in the leaves. The name primarily denotes those plant species of which the stems, powdered leaves or volatile oils are employed in herbalism
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
.
Rutaceae and Rhamnaceae
- AgathosmaAgathosmaAgathosma is a genus of about 135 species of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, native to the southern part of Africa. Common names include Buchu, Boegoe, Bucco, Bookoo and Diosma. Buchu formally denotes two herbal species, prized for their fragrance and medicinal use...
species (syn. Barosma, Diosma), RutaceaeRutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, - including A. betulinaAgathosma betulinaAgathosma betulina is a flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, native to the lower elevation mountains of western South Africa, where it occurs near streams in fynbos habitats.-Growth:...
and A. crenulataAgathosma crenulataAgathosma crenulata is a flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, native to the lower elevation mountains of southwestern South Africa, where it occurs near streams in fynbos habitats. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 1.5-2.5 m tall. The leaves are opposite, oval, 15-35 mm long and 7-18 mm broad...
, marketed as Buchu, - A. serratifoliaAgathosma serratifoliaAgathosma serratifolia, known as Longleaf Buchu or Long Buchu, is an erect, South African shrub, belonging to the citrus family Rutaceae. It is one of about 135 species mainly occurring in the south-western Cape Province. .This species is strongly aromatic, and is gathered for medicinal use...
and Empleurum unicapsulareEmpleurum unicapsulareEmpleurum unicapsulare or False Buchu, is a South African shrub belonging to the family Rutaceae and occurs from the south-western districts of the Cape Province to the Uitenhage area....
, RutaceaeRutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, used as substitutes - Thamnosma africanaThamnosmaThamnosma is a genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae.-Selected species:* Thamnosma africana – Sandboegoe* Thamnosma montana Torr. & Frém. – Turpentine Broom, Mohave Desert Rue* Thamnosma socotrana Balf.f....
, Sandboegoe, RutaceaeRutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, used in NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
as substitute - ColeonemaColeonemaColeonema is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. The eight known species are all from the western Cape Province of South Africa. In Australia, where they are cultivated as garden ornamentals, they are often incorrectly referred to as Diosma.Species include:*Coleonema album Bartl. &...
species, RhamnaceaeRhamnaceaeRhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
Individual plant species
- Croton gratissimusCroton (genus)Croton is an extensive flowering plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, established by Carl Linnaeus in 1737. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also...
, Koranaboegoe, EuphorbiaceaeEuphorbiaceaeEuphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....
, used inland as a substitute - Ocimum fruticulosumOcimumOcimum is a genus of about 35 species of aromatic annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family Lamiaceae, mostly native to the tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World.Some species include:...
, Boesmansboegoe, LamiaceaeLamiaceaeThe mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae... - Osteospermum breviradiatumOsteospermumOsteospermum is a genus belonging to the Calenduleae, one of the smaller tribes of the sunflower family .Osteospermum used to belong to the genus Dimorphotheca, but only the annual species remain in that genus; the perennials belong to Osteospermum. The genus Osteospermum is also closely related...
, Lemoenboegoe, AsteroideaeAsteroideaeAsteroideae is a subfamily of the plant family Asteraceae. It contains about 70% of the species of the family.It is made of several tribes including Astereae, Calenduleae, Eupatorieae, Gnaphalieae, Heliantheae, Senecioneae and Tageteae.- Classification :... - Pteronia onobromoidesPteroniaPteronia is a genus of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family.It contains the following species:*Pteronia acuminata*Pteronia acuta*Pteronia adenocarpa*Pteronia ambrariifolia*Pteronia anisata*Pteronia aspalatha...
, Boegoebos, AsteraceaeAsteraceaeThe Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
, which has succulent aromatic leaves
Fungi
- Phellorina inquinans, Haasboegoe, a non-aromatic fungus
- Podaxon carcinomalis, Wolfboegoe, a non-aromatic fungus
Non-vegetable
- HyraceumHyraceumHyraceum is the petrified and rock-like excrement composed of both urine and feces excreted by the Cape Hyrax, , commonly referred to as the Dassie...
, known as Haasboegoe or Klipboegoe, and used medicinally by the NamaquaNamaquaNama are an African ethnic group of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They traditionally speak the Nama language of the Khoe-Kwadi language family, although many Nama now speak Afrikaans. The Nama are the largest group of the Khoikhoi people, most of whom have largely disappeared as a group,...
Other
- Garlic chivesGarlic chivesGarlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a vegetable related to onion. The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. The flavor is more like garlic than chives. It grows in...
, known as Buchu in KoreanKorean languageKorean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, though linguistically unrelated
Note: Various similar names are recorded, including Boechoe, Boekoe, Boggoa, Boochoo, Bookoo, Bouchou, Bugu, Buccho, Bucchuu, Bucco, Buchu, iBuchu, Bucku or Buka Leaves, though the names in bold print are best known.