Calyptrotheca somalensis

Gilg

PortulacaceaeRootsBark/Sap

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Sap, Root sap - thirst

The sap is consumed as a drink to quench thirst.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in dry soils. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall above 400 mm. It can grow in arid places.

Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia,

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 shrub. It lies along the ground. The stems and leaves are succulent. It grows 3 m high. It has a large fleshy, tuberous rootstock. The leaves are oval with wavy edges. They are 2.5 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. The flowers are greenish or white. They are 4-20 in a cluster. They are at the ends of the small branches. The fruit are oval and yellow. They are 1 cm long and have 1 seed. The seed is black with a red, loved aril.

Names & Synonyms

Dalol, Duhn, Mukhudu-nyuma, Solol

Talinum rivae Chiov.

References (3)

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 6th June 2011]
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

What to Eat

Where to Find It

How to Identify

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