Fockea edulis

(Thunb.) K. Schum.

Kambro

ApocynaceaeLeavesRootsPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Root, Tubers, Leaves

Root. A milky, somewhat sweetish flavour. The large tubers have been used to make a 'konfyt' (a type of jam) as an alternative to watermelon. The tubers can be up to 60cm in diameter.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It cannot tolerate frost. It grows in drier places.

Africa, Australia, Eswatini, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,

Countries: Angola, Australia, 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, Japan, 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 climber. It is a plant with a large storage organ near the ground. This is white and rough. It can vary in shape. It produces vines. The vines can grow 30 cm in a year. The leaves are dark green. They are 3-4 cm long and 1 cm wide. They have wavy edges. The flowers are green and 1.5 cm wide. The fruit are greyish pods 8 cm long.

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed.

Medicinal Uses

The root and tubers are used traditionally as food and medicine.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Fockea edulis is a species of caudiciform plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to the Cape Provinces and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

Production

An edible tuber may weigh 22 kg.

Notes

There are about 10 Fockea species.

References (17)

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Anderson, M., 2002, The World Encyclopedia of Cacti and Succulents. Hermes House, New York. p 165
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Bruyns, P. V. & Klak, C., 2006, A Systematic Study of the Old World Genus Fockea (Apocynaceae) Annals of the Missouri Botanical garden, Vol. 93(4): 535-564
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 32
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 109
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 471 (As Pergularia edulis)
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 79
Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 43
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
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 24
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
van Wyk, Be., & Gericke, N., 2007, People's plants. A Guide to Useful Plants of Southern Africa. Briza. p 88
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
Youngblood, D., 2004, Identification and Quantification of Edible Plant Foods in the Upper (Nama) Karoo, South Africa. Economic Botany 58 (Supplement) :S43-S65