Ampelocissus obtusata
(Welw. ex Baker) Planch.
Wild grape
VitaceaeFruit
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Peter Erb, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Peter Erb
(c) Peter Erb, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Peter Erb
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Troos van der Merwe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The ripe fruit are eaten fresh.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in woodland areas and rocky outcrops.
Africa, East Africa, Mozambique, Southern Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
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 climbing herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 2 m tall. The leaves have 3 to 5 leaflets. The leaflets are leathery and there are irregular teeth along the edge. The flowers are in dense compact heads. These are on long stalks. The flowers are red and with yellow anthers. The fruit are small and red. They are tart but edible.
Notes
There are about 95 Ampelocissus species.
Names & Synonyms
Munsansa, Muzambiringa
Ampelocissus aesculifolia Gilg. & M. BrandtAmpelocissus arcuata (Welw. ex Baker) Planch.Ampelocissus brunneorubra Gilg.Ampelocissus quercifolia (Rolfe) Gilg & M. BrandtVitis arcuata Welwitsch ex BakerVitis obtusata Welw. ex BakerVitis obtusata var. quercifolia Rolfe
References (4)
- Malaisse, F., 1997, Se nourrir en floret claire africaine. Approche ecologique et nutritionnelle. CTA., p 57
- Malaisse, F., 2010, How to live and survive in Zambezian open forest (Miombo Ecoregion). Les Presses Agronomiques de Gembloux.
- Maroyi, A., 2011, The Gathering and Consumption of Wild Edible Plants in Nhema Communal Area, Midlands Province, Zimbabwe. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 50:6, 506-525
- Maroyi, A. & Cheikhyoussef, A., 2017, Traditional knowledge of wild edible fruit in southern Africa: A comparative use patterns in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 16(3): 385-392
