Asclepias albens
(E. Mey.) Schltr.
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Stems, Flowers
Young leaves are cooked and eaten. Stems and flowers are also edible portions.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant. It grows between 10-1,700 m above sea level.
Africa, Eswatini, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
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. It can lie along the ground. The leaves are simple and oval. They are on short stalks. They are hairy on both surfaces. There are many flowers in a flat topped group at the top of the plant. They are green with yellow centres. They have a scent. The fruit are 5 cm long. They have fleshy ridges and a beak at the tip.
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from seeds. They do not transplant easily.
Names & Synonyms
Idoyi, Ishongwe, Tshalale, Umdzayi
Gomphocarpus albens (E. Mey.) Decne.Pachycarpus albens E. Mey.Xysmalobium albens (E. Mey.) D. Dietr.
References (6)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 106
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 79 (As Gomphocarpus albens)
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 177 (As Gomphocarpus albens)
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 20
- 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
