Alafia barteri grows as a liana up to 35 metres (115 ft) long, with a stem diameter of up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in). Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla. Fruit is dark brown with paired cylindrical follicles, each up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. Habitat is lowland forest from sea-level to 200 metres (660 ft) altitude. Local medicinal uses include as a treatment for malaria and rheumatism.A. barteri is native to Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon.
Alafia is a rural commune of the Cercle of Timbuktu in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. The main village and administrative centre is Toya. The commune is mostly desert and covers an area of 27,857 km2. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 13,318.
Alafia is a genus of lianas or climbing shrubs found in tropical Africa and Madagascar.As of August 2013 the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 26 species: