Coccinia palmata
(Sond.) Cogn.
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Gail Bowers-Winters, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Gail Bowers-Winters, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Gail Bowers-Winters, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A pumpkin family herb. It is a climber. The stem is smooth. The leaf stalk is 5 cm long. The leaf blade is divided into 5 broad lobes to about half their depth. The leaves are 15 cm long and wide. The leaves have a few hairs and many small black dots. They are wavy along the edge. The flowers occur singly. The flower stalks are 2 cm long. The flowers are yellow. The fruit are long and red. They are 4 cm long by 1 cm wide.
Edible Uses
The leaves are cooked and eaten. The roots are eaten occasionally, traditionally used as a famine food. The fruit is also edible.
Traditional Uses
The leaves are cooked and eaten. The roots are eaten occasionally.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
In Swaziland it grows in the high veld only. It grows at about 1,800 m above sea level. It cannot tolerate frost. It can grow in arid places.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
Other Information
The roots are a famine food.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Fwifwi, Gomo, Uthangazane lwehlathi, Uthangazane omncane, Xipapa
References (7)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 170
- Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 66
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 15th April 2011]
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 48
Show all 7 references Hide references
- Shackleton, S. E., et al, 1998, Use and Trading of Wild Edible Herbs in the Central Lowveld Savanna Region, South Africa. Economic Botany, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 251-259
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
