Vernonia amygdalina, a member of the daisy family, is a small to medium-sized shrub that grows in tropical Africa. V. amygdalina typically grows to a height of 2–5 m (6.6–16.4 ft). The leaves are elliptical and up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Its bark is rough.V. amygdalina is commonly called bitter leaf in English because of its bitter taste. Other African common names include Congo Bololo (D. R. Congo), ebicha (Oromo), grawa (Amharic), ewuro (Yoruba), etidot (Efik), onugbu (Igbo), ityuna (Tiv), oriwo (Edo), Awɔnwono (Akan), chusar-doki or shuwaka (Hausa), mululuza (Luganda), labwori (Acholi), olusia (Luo), ndoleh (Cameroon), Umubirizi (Kinyarwanda) and olubirizi (Lusoga)

Medicinal Uses

V. amygdalina is well known as a medicinal plant with several uses including for the treatment of diabetes, fever reduction, and recently for a non-pharmaceutical solution to persistent fever, headache, and joints pain associated with AIDS (an infusion of the plant is taken as needed).