Cyphia digitata
(Thunb.) Willd.
CampanulaceaeRoots
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(c) Marion Maclean, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Marion Maclean
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(c) eugenevs, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) eugenevs, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Roots, Tubers
The tubers and roots are eaten, with the tubers traditionally eaten raw, especially by children.
Where to Find It
It is a Mediterranean or subtropical plant. It grows in sandstone and clay soils.
Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa,
Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How to Identify
A twining perennial herb. It forms tubers. The leaves have 3-7 lobes. They have teeth. The flowers are white to mauve. They are 7-14 mm long. They are in the upper leaf axils.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Cyphia digitata is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cyphia, endemic to the Western Cape.
Other Information
The tubers are eaten raw especially by children.
Names & Synonyms
Baroe, Barou, Bruin baroe
References (6)
- De Vynk, J. C., et al, 2016, Indigenous edible plant use by contemporary Khoe-San descendants of South Africa's Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Botany. 102 (2016) 60-69
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 257
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 263
- Manning, J., 2007, Field Guide to Fynbos. Struik nature. p 352
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 72 (Also as Cyphia dentariifolia)
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179 (Also as Cyphia dentariifolia)
