Our data sources

PlantLens brings together database records and published ethnobotanical research.

Primary databases

NMPPDB

Nigerian Medicinal Plants and Phytochemicals Database

Cited on 9 of 20 plants

Nigeria's own medicinal plant database, with local names, species records and references to Nigerian ethnobotanical studies.

nmppdb.com.ng ↗

Dr. Duke's

Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases (USDA)

Cited on 11 of 20 plants

James A. Duke's long-running USDA database of plant chemicals, their biological activities and recorded traditional uses. Released under CC0.

phytochem.nal.usda.gov ↗

Supplementary & literature sources

Published ethnobotanical literature

Peer-reviewed journals and published research

118 references cited

Published studies provide evidence for traditional uses and phytochemical findings that are not covered by the databases.

Plants of the World Online

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Regions for 19 of 20 plants

Kew's record of where each species grows, native or naturalised. It decides which parts of Africa a plant is listed in.

powo.science.kew.org ↗

Local names

NMPPDB, Wikidata and regional plant references

89 names in 13 languages

Nigerian names come from NMPPDB. Names in Swahili, Akan (Twi), Fula and other languages start from leads such as Wikidata and are only added once confirmed in references such as PROTA4U, the World Agroforestry Agroforestree Database, Burkill's Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa and the Akan (Twi) Dictionary.

How we handle data

  1. Step 1

    Pull from Dr. Duke's

    A script matches each plant to Dr. Duke's database by genus and species, then extracts every recorded phytochemical and traditional use.

  2. Step 2

    Cross-check names and range

    Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa names and Nigerian uses are checked against NMPPDB. Names in other African languages start from leads such as Wikidata and are only added once confirmed in a published reference. Where each plant grows comes from Kew's Plants of the World Online.

  3. Step 3

    Curate by hand

    The raw rows are narrowed down to the compounds and uses worth including, and rewritten in plain language.

  4. Step 4

    Cite every claim

    Each use, compound and caution keeps its source citation. Wording stays descriptive: “traditionally used for”, never a medical claim.

Photo credits (20 plants)

Plant photos come from Wikimedia Commons and iNaturalist, used under their Creative Commons or public domain licences.