Xerophyta equisetoides

Bak.

Fibrestem

VelloziaceaeFlowers
Xerophyta equisetoides
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Dan Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dan Lee
Xerophyta equisetoides
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Xerophyta equisetoides
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers

The flowers are used as a sauce.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows on rocky hillsides.

Africa, Botswana, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Southern Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

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 herb. The stems are erect and there are a few short branches. It grows 2 m tall. The leaves are in clusters at the ends of the branches. They are narrow. The flowers are pale mauve or white. The flowers have a sweet scent. They are on slender stalks.

Notes

There are 28 Xerophyta species.

Names & Synonyms
Vellozia equisetoides (Bak.) Bak.Xerophyta retinervis var. equisetoides (Baker) Coetzee
References (5)
  • Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 71 (As Vellozia equisetoides)
  • Malaisse, F., 1997, Se nourrir en floret claire africaine. Approche ecologique et nutritionnelle. CTA., p 91.
  • Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 41
  • Pickering, H., & Roe, E., 2009, Wild Flowers of the Victoria Falls Area. Helen Pickering, London. p 113
  • Scudder, 1971, (As Vellozia equisetoides)