Cynanchum virens
Steud.
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(c) Kyle Campbell, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND), uploaded by Kyle Campbell
(c) Kyle Campbell, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND), uploaded by Kyle Campbell
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Roots
The roots are cooked and eaten, serving as a famine food. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A subtropical plant.
Africa, Lesotho, 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 tall slender climber. The stems are twining. The leaves have long stalks. The leaves are simple, opposite and heart shaped. They can have a few hairs. There are 3-15 flowers in a group in the axils of leaves. The flowers are small and 5 mm long. They are white. The fruit is a long smooth follicle that tapers into a beak.
Medicinal Uses
The roots have traditional food and medicinal applications.
Other Information
The roots are a famine food.
Notes
There are about 150 Cynanchum species.
Names & Synonyms
Mololo
References (8)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 108
- Gillarmod, J., 1971,
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 65
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 73
- Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 177
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 63
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 23
- 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
