Some African Poison Plants And Medicines Of Northern Rhodesia

The Occasional Papers of the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, Number Eleven: Some African Poison Plants and Medicines of Northern Rhodesia by W. Gilges, published in 1955 by the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, is a specialised and historically important contribution to African ethnobotanical and anthropological scholarship. Issued as part of the respected Occasional Papers series, this work reflects the museum’s mid-twentieth-century commitment to documenting indigenous knowledge systems in Central and Southern Africa during a formative period of academic research.

Some African Poison Plants focuses on the identification, uses, and cultural understanding of poisonous plants and medicinal substances used in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). W. Gilges approaches the subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining botanical observation with ethnographic insight. The work records traditional plant-based medicines, toxic substances, and their applications within local communities, preserving knowledge that was largely transmitted orally. In doing so, it provides valuable documentation of indigenous pharmacology at a time when such practices were increasingly threatened by social and political change.

The publication is concise yet densely informative, characteristic of the Occasional Papers series, and intended primarily for researchers, medical anthropologists, botanists, and colonial-era administrators concerned with health, agriculture, and natural resource use. Gilges’ careful recording of plant properties and uses offers insight into African medical traditions while also highlighting early attempts to systematise and interpret this knowledge within Western academic frameworks.

Published by the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum—one of the most influential research institutions in Central Africa during the colonial period—this paper forms part of an important body of regional scientific literature. Today, Some African Poison Plants and Medicines of Northern Rhodesia is valued not only for its botanical content but also for its historical significance, illustrating mid-century approaches to ethnobotany and museum-based research.

This 1955 publication is a desirable item for collectors and scholars of African natural history, ethnobotany, colonial-era anthropology, and medical history, particularly those with an interest in Southern and Central African studies.

Condition: Very good – Prior ownership stamped on first page and previous pricing in pencil.