Cissus dinklagei

Gilg et M. Brandt

VitaceaeLeavesShootsBark/Sap

gbif · cc-by-nc-sa
Jan Klein & West & Central Africa program

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Stem sap, Vegetable

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable. An acid flavour, similar to sorrel (Rumex spp). The cut stems exude a copious, clear watery sap. It is used as a drink and is given to babies to stimulate their growth.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in dense evergreen forest.

Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon,

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 woody creeper. It has tendrils opposite the leaves. The stem is round in cross section and 30 m long. The leaves are alternate and simple. The leaf stalk is 1-4 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 10 cm long by 6 cm wide. The base is flattened and it tapers to the tip. The flowers are in clusters 4-10 cm long. The flowers have both sexes. They are small and green. The fruit is an oval berry. It is 3 cm long and 2 cm wide. It is red and has one seed. The seed is flattened and oval and 17 mm long.

Medicinal Uses

The stem sap is used as a drink in traditional practice.

Other Information

It is a minor vegetable.

Notes

There are about 200-350 Cissus species. There are about 75 species in tropical America.

Names & Synonyms

Abondoko, Aligna, Limiambia, Mabon-doko, Mendome-ngoge, Nambodo, Okolo wi nkambi, Wese

Cissus dinklagei var. pilosa Desc.

References (5)

Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 180
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 224
Nkeoua, G. & Boundzanga, G. C., 1999, Donnees sur les produits forestieres non ligneux en Republique du Congo. FAO. p 22
Raponda-Walker, A & Sillans, R., 1961, Les Plantes Utiles du Gabon. Editions Paul Lechevalier, Paris. p 53
Termote, C., et al, 2011, Eating from the wild: Turumbu, Mbole and Bali traditional knowledge of non-cultivated edible plants, District Tshopo, DRCongo, Gen Resourc Crop Evol. 58:585-618