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Jatropha erythropoda

Pax & K. Hoffm.

iNaturalist· cc-by

(c) Manuel R Popp, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Manuel R Popp

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Christine Sydes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Christine Sydes, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Description

A herb. It has several stems and can be fleshy. It grows 30 cm tall. The tubers are 16 cm long by 3.5 cm wide. The leaves are compound and 2-8 cm long by 1-4 cm wide. The flowering shoot are 3 cm long. The fruit is 7-8 mm long by 10-12 mm wide.

Edible Uses

The tubers and roots are edible.

Medicinal Uses

A decoction of the rhizome is drunk to treat blood in the urine and stomach-ache. The plant is rubbed on the skin to treat wounds and venereal diseases.

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, Botswana, Southern Africa,

Nutrition

PartMoisturekJkcalProteinVit AVit CIronZinc
Tubers86.7183441.17.60.4

References (3)

  • Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 54
  • Wehmeyer, A. S, 1986, Edible Wild Plants of Southern Africa. Data on the Nutrient Contents of over 300 species
  • 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

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