Kyllinga alba
Nees
CyperaceaeRoots
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) anikie01, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) anikie01, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Roots - flavouring, Bulb, Preservative
The roots are used as a flavouring and preservative.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant.
Africa, East Africa, Kenya, 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 sedge. It is a herb. It grows 50 cm tall. The rhizome forms a mass of stem bases. The flowers are in a large round head.
Other Uses
The lower parts of the plant are pounded then placed in an ostrich egg shell and left there for 4 - 14 days. This purifies the inside of the shell so that it can then be used as a water container. The roots are aromatic. The scent is likened to that of citronella.
References (4)
- Ichikawa, M., 1980, The Utilization of Wild Food Plants by the Suiei Dorobo in Northern Kenya. J. Anthrop. Soc. Nippon. 88(1): 25-48
- 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
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 51
- 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
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