Dissotis hensii

Cogn.

MelastomataceaeFruitLeaves
Dissotis hensii
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten
Dissotis hensii
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Bart Wursten, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bart Wursten

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit

Young leaves are cooked as a leafy vegetable, and ripe fruit are eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant.

Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR,

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 small shrub. The leaves are opposite and narrowly oval. They are 6 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. The flowers are on the ends of the stems.

Names & Synonyms

Itele, Nono

References (4)
  • Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 75, 133
  • Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 205
  • Terashima, H., et al, 1991, Ethnobotany of the Lega in the tropical rainforest of eastern Zaire: part 1, Zone de Mwenga. African Study Monographs. Suppl. 15:1-61
  • 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

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