Ampelocissus leonensis
(Hook.f.) Planch.
VitaceaeFruit
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit are edible and can be eaten fresh.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in the forest.
Africa, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, West 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 stout climbing plant. It is softly woody. The stems are hollow. They have bristly hairs. The leaves are almost round or with 5 lobes. They are ash coloured but red underneath. The tendrils are long, woody and branched. The flowers are on a long stalk with a tuft at the end. The flowers are green. The fruit are purple and like grapes. They are sour.
Notes
There are about 95 Ampelocissus species.
Names & Synonyms
Ampelocissus bakeri Planch.Ampelocissus celardii (Lecard) Planch.Ampelocissus salmonea (Baker) Planch.Cissus leonensis Hook. f.Vitis leonensis (Hook. f.) BakerVitis salmonea Baker
References (8)
- Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 25 (Also as Ampelocissus lecardii)
- Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 5. Kew.
- Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London. (Also as Ampelocissus lecardii)
- Gallagher, D. E., 2010, Farming beyond the escarpment: Society, Environment, and Mobility in Precolonial Southeastern Burkina Faso. PhD University of Michigan.
- Global Plants JSTOR
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 119
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 200 (Also as Ampelocissus lecardii)
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
