Dolichopentas decora
(S. Moore) Karehed & B. Bremer
(c) andreaudzungwa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Tony KM, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves
The fruit and leaves are edible.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in upland grassland in West Africa.
Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia,
How to Identify
A herb. It is erect and grows 60 cm high. The stems are usually single and somewhat woody. The leaves are in rings or 3-5. The leaf blades are 4-13 cm long by 1-6 cm wide. They are oval. The flowers are in clusters of 3 with 2 at the side and one at the end. The clusters consists of about 30 flowers. The flowers are white and have a sweet scent. The fruit are about 1.5 cm long by 1 cm wide. They have ribs and are hairy. The seeds are brown and oval. They are about 1 mm long.
Notes
There are about 50 Pentas species.
Names & Synonyms
References (5)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew. (As Pentas decora)
- Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 84 (As Pentas decora)
- Kakeya, 1976, (As Pentas decora)
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 173 (As Pentas decora)
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
