Brachystelma pulchellum

Schltr.

Hottentot's bread

ApocynaceaeRoots

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

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

What to Eat

Edible parts: Root, Tubers

The tuber and root are eaten.

Where to Find It

It is a Mediterranean or subtropical plant. It grows on stony ground.

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 succulent herb. It grows 20 cm long from a thick tuber that is 5 cm across. There are 2 or more branches from the base and these divided. The leaves are spreading. The leaf blade is 4-20 cm long by 2-15 cm wide. They are oval or sword shaped. The flowers occur singly or in pairs.