Plectranthus rotundifolius

A perennial reaching 0.6 m tall by 0.4 m wide, growing at a fast rate. Hardy to UK zone 10. Insect-pollinated with hermaphrodite flowers. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils across mildly acidic to basic pH ranges. Grows in semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.

Description

A small annual herb. It grows 15-30 cm high. It can lie along the ground or curve upwards. The stem is succulent. The leaves are thick and have a smell like mint. The flowers are small and pale violet. There are small, dark brown tubers in clusters at the base of the stem. They can be 20 cm long by 2 cm wide.

Edible Uses

The tubers of the Hausa potato can be eaten raw or cooked, though they are best consumed in small quantities as they are somewhat indigestible. They are often eaten as a relish alongside starchy staple foods, but can also serve as the staple itself. Common preparations include boiling with spices, combining with beans and cooked vegetables, steaming as a vegetable, or mixing with savory ingredients. Adult tubers are used as a potato substitute for preparing minced meatballs. Like potatoes, they can be boiled, roasted, baked, or fried. Their flavor is bland but sweeter than Coleus esculentus. Flour milling from the tubers has been reported in Burkina Faso. The tubers are white, starchy, and slightly aromatic, darkening with age; they typically measure 2–4cm long, occasionally up to 8cm, and grow in clusters of 3–7. Leaves are also cooked and used as a vegetable.

Traditional Uses

The tubers are boiled and eaten. They can be added to curries, baked, or fried into chips. They are boiled and eaten with coconut milk. They can be eaten raw or baked, steamed, added to soups or stews or mashed and fried. The leaves are eaten. The leaves can be used as flavouring. Ripe fruit are eaten.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used in traditional medicine to treat dysentery. The plant is also used for blood in the urine and eye disorders, and it may possess anti-cancer properties.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It suits high rainfall areas with an evenly distributed rainfall and low night temperatures. It is grown as a monsoonal crop. It needs a well drained, sand loam. It cannot stand water-logging. It is grown on ridges in heavier soils. It cannot stand cold or frost. It cannot tolerate drought. The best pH is 6.5-7.0. In East Africa it grows up to 2,200 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, China, Comoros, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia,

Cultivation

It is grown from suckers from germinating tubers. The tubers are put in a nursery bed about 4 cm deep and 10 cm apart. Tubers germinate in 10-15 days once watered. These produce a cluster of sprouts which are then transplanted after about 3 months. The earth is heaped up around the plants to encourage tubers. A spacing of 20 cm apart in rows 90 cm apart is used. It can also be grown from cuttings. Sections 10-20 cm long are used.

Propagation

Seed is not normally used for propagation. Stem cuttings of about 10–20cm can be taken, though they can be difficult to root. The plant is also propagated by dividing sprouting tubers, which are planted approximately 5–8cm deep.

Other Uses

Hausa potato is grown as a sole crop or intercropped with bambara groundnut, yam, okra, millet, maize, or sorghum. Its cultivation has been largely displaced by the spread of cassava.

Production

Crops reach maturity in about 5-6 months. This may be longer in colder places. Yields of 8-15 tonnes per hectare are average. Tubers should be harvested as soon as they are mature to avoid decay. In South Africa they are available May to August.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Notes

It possibly has anti-cancer properties.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Amadada, Chinese potato, Ciyobo, Fra-fra potato, Gembili, Huwa kentang, Innala, Kare, Kembili, Kemili, Kentang jawa, Ketang, Koorka, Macilu, Mobo, Omime, Piasa, Ratala, Saluga, Tamaka, Tumuku, Ubi kembili, Vatke, Zulu round potato

References (49)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 31 (As Solenostemon rotundifolius var. rubra)
• Akinola, R., et al, 2020, A Review of Indigenous Food Crops in Africa and the Implications for more Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3493; (As Solenostemon rotundifolius)
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 218 (As Plectranthus parviflorus)
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 24 (As Coleus dysentericus)
• Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 3. Kew.

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