Brachystelma coddii

R. A. Dyer

ApocynaceaeRoots

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Kate Braun, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Kate Braun

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Simon Attwood, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Simon Attwood

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tubers, Root

The tubers and roots are edible and traditionally used as a famine food.

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant. It grows on sandy outcrops.

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 keeps growing from year to year. It has a tuber 2-5 cm across. There can be one or several stems. They are 5-15 cm long or longer. The leaves are broadly oval. They have a few hairs. They are dark green and opposite. The flowers usually occur singly. They are star shaped. They have a shallow tube 7 mm across. They are cream with maroon spots.