Asclepias multicaulis

Description

A slender herb. It grows 30 cm long and can be lying along the ground. It branches at the base and can have several spreading and hairy stems. It has a milky sap. The leaves are simple and spreading. They are broad at the base and taper to the tip. The flowers are in a single group at the top. There are 6-8 flowers in the group with equal length stalks from one point. The flowers are small and 5 mm long. The fruit is a follicle tapering to a beak.

Edible Uses

The leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The stems, flowers, and pods are also similarly prepared and eaten. The roots are eaten raw.

Traditional Uses

The leaves are eaten raw or cooked. The stems, flowers and pods are also similarly used. The roots are eaten raw.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, Lesotho, South Africa, Southern Africa,

Notes

Also put in the family Asclepiadaceae. An unresolved name in The Plant List.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Lenkileng

References (7)

• Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 105
• Guillarmod, J., 1966, 1971,
• Letsela, T., et al, 2003, Plant Resources Used for Subsistence in Tsehlanyane and Boking in Lesotho. Economic Botany 57(4): 619-639
• Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 61
• Plowes, N. J. & Taylor, F. W., 1997, The Processing of Indigenous Fruits and other Wildfoods of Southern Africa. in Smartt, L. & Haq. (Eds) Domestication, Production and Utilization of New Crops. ICUC p 185

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