Stapelia olivacea
N. E. Br.
ApocynaceaeShoots
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(c) Dr. Alexey Yakovlev, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
(c) Dr. Alexey Yakovlev, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
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(c) Joti Daya, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joti Daya
(c) Joti Daya, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joti Daya
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(c) David Hoare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
(c) David Hoare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Stem
The succulent stems are eaten.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant.
Africa, South Africa, Southern 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 herb. It forms compact clumps 5-15 cm wide. The stems are succulent. They are 2-12 cm long by 6-10 mm thick. They are grey-green with purple specks. The flowering shoots are hairy and near the base of the stem. 1-6 flowers develop in sequence.
Medicinal Uses
Used as an appetite suppressant.
References (2)
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 27
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
