Hidden Garden has created a unique Afro-botanical collection, featuring African plants used here in the Americas, and other plants which play an important role in African-American ethnobotany. Based on years of research here at the garden and the revolutionary book, In The Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World, we have a growing list of important medicinal, nutritional and spiritual plants that came from Africa over the past 500 years. These plants have been organized into a ceremonial space, using the Sacred Grove model from West Africa (see Ormsby & Egbeako ) in which plant conservation areas serve as grounds for other wellness and spiritual traditions to take place.

Honoring the Botanical Traditions of the African Diaspora
- Research by volunteers and staff in Afro-botany, the ethnobotany of the African Diaspora, results of which are incorporated into Hidden Garden’s online botanical database and research library.
- Seed & Plant Collection – including donations from community members, ethnobotanists and a visit to the Bri Bri Seed Exchange, which proved extremely fruitful. These seeds have been planted by volunteers and are currently under close supervision to ensure their survival.
- Networking – identifying and contacting academic experts, non-governmental and governmental organizations and community elders
- Wisdom Sharing – creating opportunities for sharing ancestral and academic information in a traditional setting which honors and includes local elders and community members
- Botanical Repatriation – offering Africana plants, ethnobotanical information and cultural practices, free of charge, to local Afro-Costa Rican residents and online
The plants listed below are either of African origin or have been integral to the survival of Africans in the Atlantic Diaspora. The list is a work in progress and features particularly those plants which can potentially grow in lowland Caribbean tropics. Those which have a number are already in our garden and the others are on our wish list (those marked with P are priority). If you or someone you know has access to these plants and/or information about the African ethnobotanical experience in the Americas, please reach out to us.
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Patois
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Family
|
Scientific
|
Espanol
|
English
|
Bri Bri
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Other Names
|
Origin
|
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14 | Shoe black | MALVACEAE | Hibiscus rosa-sinensis | Amapola | Hibiscus | |||
18 | Bissy | MALVACEAE | Cola acuminata | Cola | Cola Nut | Africa | ||
35 | Banana | MUSACEAE | Musa acuminata | Banano | Banana | Asia > Africa | ||
36 | Yellow Yam | D. cayenensis | ||||||
37 | Bitter Yam | Dioscorea dumetorum | ||||||
38 | African Yam | Dioscorea rotundata | Africa | |||||
47 | Ginger | ZINGIBERACEAE | Zingiber officinale | Jengibre | Ginger | |||
60 | Dasheen, Coco Yam | ARACEAE | Colocasia esculenta | Malanga | Taro | Asia > Africa | ||
65 | Plantain | MUSACEAE | Musa paradisiaca | Platano | Plantain | Asia > Africa | ||
81 | Tamrin | FABACEAE | Tamarindus indica | Tamarindo | Tamarind | Africa | ||
108 | Air Potato Yam | DIOSCORACEAE | Dioscorea bulbifera | Hard Yam | Africa | |||
128 | Cerasee | CUCURBITACEAE | Momordica charantia | Sorosi | Bitter Melon | Balsam Pear | Africa | |
161 | Ackee | SAPINDACEAE | Blighia sapida | Africa | ||||
P | Black Eyed Peas | Vigna unguiculata | ||||||
P | Cotton | Gossypium herbaceum | ||||||
P | Finger Millet | POACEAE | Eleusine coracana | |||||
P | Guinea Millet | POACEAE | Brachiaria deflexa | |||||
P | Melegueta Pepper | Afromomum melegueta | Africa | |||||
P | Oil Palm | Elaeis guineensis | ||||||
P | Pearl Millet | POACEAE | Pennisetum glaucum | Africa | ||||
P | Sesame | Sesamum alatum | Africa | |||||
P | Calalou | Amaranthus spp. | Amaranto | African Spinach | Bledo | Africa | ||
Calaloo Talamanca | PHYTOLACCACEAE | Phytolacca | Jaboncillo | Poke Root | Americas | |||
Castor Bean | Ricinus communis | Africa | ||||||
Gunghu Beans | Cajanus cajan | |||||||
P 51 | Saril | MALVACEAE | Hibiscus sabdariffa | Rosa de Jamaica | Jamaican Sorrel | Africa | ||
P 61 | Okro | MALVACEAE | Hibiscus esculentus | Cafe Chiricano | Okra | Ñanjú | Gumbo | Africa |
S | African Eggplant | Solanum aethiopicum | Africa | |||||
S | African Yam Bean | Sphenostylis stenocarpa | Africa | |||||
S | Bottleneck Gourd | Lagenaria siceraria | ||||||
S | Fingerling Potato | Plectranthus esculentus | ||||||
S | Fluted Pumpkin | Telfairia occidentalis | ||||||
S | Groundnut | Kerstingiella geocarpa | ||||||
S | Hausa Potato | Solenostemon rotundifolius | ||||||
S | Jute Mallow | Corchorus olitorious | Africa | |||||
S | Muskmelon | Cucumis melo | Africa | |||||
S | Piper seed | Piper guineense | ||||||
S | Rice | Digitaria | ||||||
S | Sorghum | Sorghum bicolor | Africa | |||||
S | Tamarind | Africa |