Article Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/11872 https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/AJNM ISSN 2520-5293 (Online) #11872 | 4 pages © Unisa Press 2022 Published by Unisa Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Can the Use of Impepho Leaves Extend beyond Traditional to Modern Medicine? An Opinion Aviwe Belani https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6911-7336 Walter Sisulu University, South Africa Kelechi E. Oladimeji https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0246-5595 Walter Sisulu University, South Africa University of South Africa oladimejikelechi@yahoo.com Chrys Matubatuba https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9331-0275 Trans-African Medic (TAM) Ventures, South Africa Ivan J. Juzang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1664-7565 Trans-African Medic (TAM) Ventures, South Africa MEE Productions Inc., United States Francis L. Hyera https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3857-722X Walter Sisulu University, South Africa fhyera@wsu.ac.za What is Impepho? Impepho is an indigenous African herb that is well known to most South Africans, particularly in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) provinces. The term “Impepho” is what the IsiXhosa-speaking tribe from Eastern Cape call this herb, while the IsiZulu-speakers from KZN call it “Imphepho”. Other English and Afrikaans names of this herb include Everlasting, African Sage, Licorice Plant, Sewejaartjies and Kooigoed. In most local markets within the country, dried Impepho leaves can be seen on display and are readily accessible for interested buyers (Sobiecki 2022). Besides South Africa, Impepho is also well known across the African continent, Europe – particularly Portugal – and some Western countries (USDA 2022). Scientifically, the herb belongs to the genus Helichrysum (family Asteraceae) and its species include H. cymosum, H. nudifolium, H. odoratissimum and H. petiolare (Lourens, Viljoen and Van Heerden 2008). The word “helichrysum” is derived from the Greek “helios” meaning