Chasmanthera dependens
Hochst.
Wikimedia Commons - Bart Wursten
GBIF
Wikimedia Commons - Bart Wursten
What to Eat
Edible parts: Stems, Vegetable, Fruit, Roots, Tubers, Leaves
The stems and leaves are eaten as vegetables. The roots and tubers are eaten, often prepared by boiling in milk to make a drink. The orange fruits are also edible.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows in dry rocky soils. It grows between 600-1,200 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia,
How to Identify
A climbing shrub or vine. It keeps growing from year to year. It can be 10 m long. The older branches have flaking bark. The leaves are broadly oval and deeply heart shaped at the base. They are 4-20 cm by 4-20 cm wide. They have velvety hairs. The flowers are yellow-green. They are on stalks 10-30 cm long. The fruit are orange and oval. They are 10-15 mm long.
How to Grow
Prefers a sunny position in a moist, well-drained soil. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Propagation: Seed - it remains dormant for six months.
Medicinal Uses
The roots are boiled in milk to make a medicinal drink.
Other Uses
The fibrous stem is beaten and used as a sponge. The plant is found growing in cocoa plantations, where it is sometimes believed to reduce yields.
Names & Synonyms
Ioboto, Kugiei, Pulomnyon, Sorta-arba, Tsatsa, Umbaraara, Uswe
References (10)
- Addis, G., Asfaw, Z & Woldu, Z., 2013, Ethnobotany of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants of Konso Ethnic Community, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 11:121-141
- Addis, G., et al, 2013, The Role of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants in Household Food Sovereignty in Hamer and Konso Communities, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research & Applications. 11:251-271
- Gemedo-Dalle, T., et al, 2005, Plant Biodiversity and Ethnobotany of Borana Pastoralists in Southern Oromia, Ethiopia. Economic Botany 59(1) pp. 43-65
- Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 560
- Ichikawa, M., 1980, The Utilization of Wild Food Plants by the Suiei Dorobo in Northern Kenya. J. Anthrop. Soc. Nippon. 88(1): 25-48
- Lulekal, E., et al, 2011, Wild edible plants in Ethiopia: a review on their potential to combat food insecurity. Afrika Focus - Vol. 24, No 2. pp 71-121
- Mutie, F. G., 2020, Conservation of Wild Food Plants and Their Potential for Combatting Food Insecurity in Kenya as Exemplified by the Drylands of Kitui County. Plants 2020, 9, 1017
- Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 3rd May 2011]
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
