Moraea longifolia
(Jacq.) Pers.
wikimedia · cc0
Wikimedia Commons - Bentham-Moxon Trust.; Curtis, William; Curtis's botanical magazine dedications, 1827-1927 : portraits and biographical notes.; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.; Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust.
Wikimedia Commons - Bentham-Moxon Trust.; Curtis, William; Curtis's botanical magazine dedications, 1827-1927 : portraits and biographical notes.; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.; Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust.
What to Eat
Edible parts: Corms, Bulb, Root
The corms and bulbs are eaten as a snack or cooked as a vegetable.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant.
Africa, Australia, Namibia, South Africa*, Southern Africa,
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, 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 is a bulb plant. It grows 6-15 cm tall. There are 3-5 leaves. These are narrow, channelled and trailing. The flowers are pale yellow.
Nutrition Score: 51/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulb | 58.6 | 683 | 163 | 1.9 | — | 92.2 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
Other Information
It is an important food in Namibia.
Names & Synonyms
Volstruisuintjie
Hexaglottis flexuosa (L.f.) SweetHexaglottis longifolia (Jacq.) Salisb.Hexaglottis longifolia var. angustifolia G. J. LewisHomeria flexuosa (L.f.) SweetIxia longifolia Jacq.Moraea flexuosa L.f. [Illegitimate]Sisyrinchium flexuosum (L.f.) Spreng.
References (4)
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 68
- van Wyk, Be., & Gericke, N., 2007, People's plants. A Guide to Useful Plants of Southern Africa. Briza. p 92 (As Hexaglottis longifolia)
- Wehmeyer, A. S, 1986, Edible Wild Plants of Southern Africa. Data on the Nutrient Contents of over 300 species (As Hexaglottis longifolia)
- 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
