Brachystelma gerrardii
Harv.
Hottentot's bread
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(c) Kate Braun, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Kate Braun
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) juddkirkel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A herb. It is stiff and erect. It grows 50 cm high. It is robust, leafy and hairy. The leaves have short stalks. The leaf blades are widest below the middle. They are oval and 4 cm long by 2 cm wide. They are pointed and the edges are slightly rough. The flowers are at the top of the shoots. There are 1 or 2 flowers together among the leaves. They are greenish-yellow or brown. The fruit are smooth and 1 cm long by 4 mm wide. They taper to a long point.
Edible Uses
The roots and tubers are eaten.
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant. In Swaziland it is in the highveld only.
Where It Grows
Africa, Eswatini, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
Notes
Also put in the family Asclepiadaceae.
Also Known As
Sidsendza, Sidzendza
References (6)
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Ogle & Grivetti, 1985,
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 62
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 22
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Show all 6 references Hide references
- 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
