Mariscus alternifolius — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tuber, Culm base, Rhizome, Root

The rhizomes are eaten and used for flavouring. The swollen culm base is also consumed, along with the tubers and roots.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in damp grassy places in West Africa.

Africa, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, West Africa,

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 sedge. These grow in clumps and have grass like leaves and solid stalks. The culms are swollen at the base. There are underground stems or rhizomes.

Names & Synonyms

Ataku mainya, Samikoko, Tiokom tiokom

Mariscus umbellatus Vahl

References (5)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
Enum. pl. 2:376. 1805
Gallagher, D. E., 2010, Farming beyond the escarpment: Society, Environment, and Mobility in Precolonial Southeastern Burkina Faso. PhD University of Michigan.
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 24 (As Mariscus umbellatus)
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 89 (As Mariscus umbellatus)

What to Eat

Where to Find It

How to Identify

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