Trial of Domestication by Vegetative Propagation of Lippia multiflora Moldenke (Verbenaceae) in the City of Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Lippia multiflora (Verbenaceae), known as "savannah tea" or "Gambia tea," is a plant that grows wild in sub-Saharan Africa's savannah regions. This plant has a variety of uses, particularly in pharmacopoeia and medicine. However, despite its growing interest, Lippia multiflora remains a wild-harvested product; therefore, its domestication has become a priority. This study aims to contribute to the domestication of Lippia multiflora, with a view to diversifying crops and, above all, ensuring its preservation. Establishing Lippia multiflora plantations requires, first and foremost, a better understanding of the plant's propagation, especially its vegetative growth. The results obtained show that Lippia multiflora reproduces vegetatively by both cuttings and layering. The best results were obtained by air layering. After six weeks of data collection, this treatment yielded satisfactory results in terms of survival rate (81.2% for layers versus 37.4% for cuttings), average number of offshoots (12.68 with layers versus 5.68 for cuttings), average height of offshoots (13.55 cm for layers versus 8.38 cm for cuttings), and number of leaves (13.55 for layers versus 8.38 for cuttings). Thus, air layering could be the best method for the vegetative propagation of Lippia multiflora with a view to its domestication.