Name: in Greek dikeros means two-thorned, and karyon means walnut.
English: Devil’s thorn.
Afrikaans: Beesdubbeltjie; Duiwelsdoring; Seepbos.
Local: Intekelane; Makanagwe.
Genus: 4 species.
Region: Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Kalahari.
Habitat: desert areas, sandy soils in grasslands, riverbanks, dunes slopes; altitudes of 900 to 1200 m.
Content: saponins, glycosides
Use: flowers for soap and shampoo; foot spas; arrow poison for hunting; leaves as a vegetable.
BotanyPerennial, prostrate herb; with creeping, densely hairy stems.
Leaves: opposite, egg-shaped; ± 2 cm long; rounded teeth along the margins.
Flowers: beautiful; bright mauve, with dark spots in the throat and lower lip; trumpet-shaped; solitary, ± 2 cm long; pedicels ± 2cm long.; flowering in summer.
This plant was used by the Khoisan in traditional spa treatments.
Fruit: hairy; circular with two central sharp projections, spines.
Seeds: oblanceolate, ± 5.5 mm long and 2.2 mm wide.
Dispersion: animals.