Feso
Feso/ruredzo/soso/inkunzani is widely occurring and naturally growing wild plant that has been used by women in Zimbabwe to wash their hair since time immemorial. It is a creepy crawling plant and if one grinds it with stones it becomes slimy and foams.
Use
Feso is known for being is known for being a good plant to use on skin and hair. When used on hair, Feso loosens curly much like today’s ‘s-curl,’ a soft curly hairstyle which is achieved through the application of chemicals. When used, Feso results in loosened curls, which are easier to manage and last for a week, which is a testament to the good conditioning effect it has on hair.
The Feso plant is also known as the Boot protectors (English) Chikada (Shona) Devil thorn (English) Inkunzane (Ndebele) Intekelane (Ndebele) Ruredzo (Shona) Seso (Shona) Soso (Shona) and the Stud plant (English)
Description
Prostrate perennial with annual creeping stems occurs almost throughout Zimbabwe. Stems almost hairless or somewhat pubescent. Leaves opposite, usually narrowly ovate in outline, up to 2.7 cm long, often more or less deeply pinnately lobed; margin coarsely crenate-serrate. Flowers solitary, axillary, very pale to deep pink or mauve, usually with darker spots on the lower lip and in the throat. Fruit broadly elliptic in outline, 16-27 mm long, hairless or slightly pubescent, with 2 erect spines on a distinctly raised upper surface.
