Gingerbeer-Root

Mondia whitei is a perennial herbaceous/woody climber belonging to the family Apocynaceae, and as with most members of this family, has milky latex. Two species of Mondia are recognised, the other being Mondia ecornuta. Known in Chichewa as 'gondolosi', in Kenya it is known as 'mukombero', the rootstock is often collected for medicinal use. It occurs at elevations of 1000 – 1500 m in moist to wet forests, and even in swampy grassland, across Sub-Saharan Africa; it is recorded from Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Angola. In Kenya its roots are heavily collected, and this often kills the plant. Some initiatives propagate the species to supply the commercial demand and attempt to re-establish the species in the wild.

With older stems becoming woody, it grows from a tuberous rootstock which has a ginger or liquorice taste and an aroma reminiscent of vanilla. The major component of the essential oil of the roots is the fragrant phenolic compound 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde, a positional isomer of vanillin.