Thamnochortus insignis

Thamnochortus insignis is a species of grass-like restio of the family Restionaceae. It is endemic to Cape Province in South Africa.

Description

A reed like tussock. It grows 2 m tall. It spread 3 m wide. The stalks are simple and smooth. Male and female plants are separate. The flowering shoots are small and golden-brown.

Edible Uses

The stem tips are eaten, prepared by pulling the stems apart at the internodes.

Traditional Uses

The stems are pulled apart at the internodes and the tips eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in coastal sands.

Where It Grows

Africa, South Africa*, Southern Africa,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seeds. The seeds are like small nutlets inside the flower. Seeds should be treated with smoke of soaked in smoke-water solution.

Also Known As

Dekriet, Riet

References (3)

• De Vynk, J. C., et al, 2016, Indigenous edible plant use by contemporary Khoe-San descendants of South Africa's Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Botany. 102 (2016) 60-69
• Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 93
• 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