Ewe Emile
Ewe Emile (Euphorbia hirta) is a small plant traditionally used in Yoruba herbal medicine for complaints such as asthma.
But there is more to this little plant than its association with asthma.
There are quite a few plants in Yoruba whose names begin with Emi.
There is Emi, the tree whose fruit gives us the shea butter we call òrí. There is Emi igbó, Emi gbẹ̀gì, and Emidò.
Then there is another one that is much easier to miss.
It grows close to the ground, often quietly creeping around compounds, roadsides and other places where you may not even notice it.
That one is Ewe Emile.
Its full Yoruba name is Emi-ilẹ̀. Many people simply call it Emile.
You may know it as the asthma plant.
But there is more to this little weed than its use for asthma in traditional Yoruba medicine.
Emile is not the only plant associated with asthma. Others include Ọja ikoko and Ọgẹdẹ odo, also called Isu mẹri.
Now, let me clear up one common confusion.
Ọgẹdẹ odo is not a banana.
Someone once asked me if it was a type of banana that grows near the river.
It isn't.
The name may sound like ògèdè, the Yoruba word for banana, but the two plants are different.
This is why Yoruba plant names can be tricky. Two plants may have similar-sounding names but be completely different.
The same goes for Emile.
Some people may say Emile wewe, Emile pupa or Emile funfun depending on who is describing the plant.
These names may vary depending on the person or locality.
It may look like an ordinary weed.
But in Yoruba traditional medicine, it has uses beyond its association with asthma.
So, let's get into it;
What Is Ewe Emile?
Ewe Emile is the small, low-growing plant botanists identify as Euphorbia hirta.
Its English names include asthma weed, hairy spurge, garden spurge, snakeweed and pill-bearing spurge
It is a plant you can easily mistake for an ordinary weed.
You may find it around compounds, by the roadside, or in open patches of soil.
Its stems are often reddish or purplish and covered with fine hairs.
The small leaves grow in pairs, opposite each other along the stem.
They are usually green, sometimes with a reddish or purplish patch in the middle, and have slightly toothed edges.
But there is another feature worth noticing.
Break a stem, and a white, milky sap may come out.
The plant also produces tiny flowers in small clusters around where the leaves join the stem. They can be easy to miss.
Emile usually grows close to the ground, although some stems may grow upward.
If you see a small, hairy plant with reddish stems, opposite leaves and milky sap, it could be Ewe Emile.
That is why they are classified as ‘Balere Onirun‘ in Yoruba tradition medicine.
Traditional Uses of Ewe Emile
Ewe Emile has several traditional uses, and asthma is only one of them.
Asthma and cough
This is probably the use most people associate with Ewe Emile.
It is traditionally used for asthma and cough, which is also where the English name “asthma weed” comes from.
In some traditional preparations, the plant is pounded together with palm oil and taken for cough.
Some may grind ginger with it and mix with original honey.
The way it is prepared can differ from one person or tradition to another, so there is no single preparation that should be presented as the Yoruba way of using Ewe Emile.
For men's strength and stamina
Ewe Emile is also traditionally used in some preparations for men's sexual strength and stamina.
It is not usually used alone for this purpose. You may hear of it being combined with ingredients such as orogbo (bitter kola), alubosa (onion) and iyere.
After sudden weight loss from sickness
Another traditional use you may come across is when someone has experienced sudden weight loss following an illness.
In this situation, Ewe Emile may be included in traditional preparations intended to help the person regain strength and body condition.
This is different from calling Ewe Emile a general weight-gain herb. The traditional context matters.
For stomach problems
Ewe Emile has also been traditionally used to help people with frequent watery stool (diarrhoea) and stool that may contain blood or mucus, often with stomach pain (dysentery).
This traditional use is not limited to Yoruba medicine. People in some other parts of Africa and Asia have also used the plant for stomach and bowel problems.
For breastfeeding
Another interesting traditional use is related to breast milk production.
In fact, this is even more common in the northern part of Nigeria, Ewe Emile has been sold in traditional markets for this purpose.
Preparations have reportedly been taken by mouth or applied around the breasts.
This is worth mentioning because it shows just how different the traditional uses of the same plant can be from one community to another.
For heavy bleeding associated with fibroid
Ewe Emile is also mentioned in some traditional preparations for women with fibroid who experience unusually heavy menstrual bleeding.
In these preparations, Ewe Emile is combined with other ingredients rather than necessarily used on its own.
Remember This About Emile Leaf
Ewe Emile may look like an ordinary little weed growing close to the ground, but it has a surprisingly long history of traditional use.
In Yoruba herbal practice, it is associated with asthma and cough, men's strength and stamina, recovery after sickness, diarrhoea, breastfeeding, and some traditional preparations for heavy bleeding associated with fibroid.
But there is another reason Ewe Emile is worth paying attention to.
Its name is part of a much bigger family of Yoruba plant names beginning with Emi. And as we have seen, familiar names can sometimes create confusion when different plants share similar names.
That is why knowing the actual plant matters.
Ewe Emile, or Emi-ilẹ̀, is the plant botanically known as Euphorbia hirta. It is one of the many plants that Yoruba traditional knowledge has found uses for.
Chat me Now on WhatsApp about Ewe Emile
Not sure if Ewe Emile will work for you?
Send me a WhatsApp message now, I’ll guide you.
Let me reconnect you to the nature’s pharmacy.