Description An extensive forest creeper growing from 20 – 50 m long, scrambling over trees and bushes at the forest edge. All parts exude white milky latex when cut. Bark is smooth and brown. It has brown tendrils up to…

Besides honey, meat, Baobab fruits, and tubers, berries are one of the significant food classes that the Hadzabe people eat. Honey is the most important one for both Hadzabe males and females. However, females relish berries as the second most…

Landolphia camptoloba (Apocynaceae) Common names: Mbungumbungu, dinsania, dinsona (Kongo). Magoki is also used for all Landolphia species with edible fruit. Description A slender vine or shrub growing from 30 cm to 8 m long. Mature fruits, 5 cm in diameter,…

Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae); Common names Ba di nsamba, ba di ngasi (Kongo), palmier à huile (Fr.), oil palm Ecology In Kongo Central scattered trees are commonly left in the bush fallow. Propagation Seed requires heat treatment before it will germinate…

Baobab seeds and vine roots are staple foods for remotely living Hadza in Tanzania. This article already presented the collection and preparation of vine roots. In the following, we will discuss how to prepare Baobab seeds and their surrounding dry…

Wild Sweetpea (Vigna frutescens) tubers are a staple source of starchy food for the Hadza people in Tanzania. The plant’s common name in the Hadza language is //ekwa. To collect them, groups of Hadza women regularly head out into the…

Spondias mombin (Anacardiaceae); Common names: Mungyenge (Kongo), Hog plums Description A tree which grows to 25 m. Flowering occurs during the dry season. Fruiting of hog plums starts after about 5 years though cuttings may produce earlier. The tree has…

Raphia sese (Arecaceae) Common names: Nsaku (Kongo = knife with a long blade), ba di magangu (Kongo). Description A palm which grows in dense clumps up to 10 m tall. Female flowers are produced at the base and male flowers…

Some mushroom collectors And some sellers Bunsambi (Polyporus tenuiculus) grows on dead tree trunks (particularly Voacanga africana) and can be found throughout the year. It is cooked with simsim or seeds of pumpkin or squash. Lumvumvu (Lentinus squarrosulus) Grows on…

Tsamma melons are the original progenitors of watermelons. Historical records indicate that these melons were already under cultivation in the Nile Valley as far back as 2000 BC. In contemporary times, Tsamma melons continue to be utilized for their oil…

Synonyms White Berry bush, Snowball bush (Eng.); Witbessiesbos (Afrikaans); Chinese waterberry (China), Goowal (Yawuru Australia); Flueggea virosa (Lat.) – Flügge was a German botanist, and virosa means poisonous or having a bad odor. Distribution Flueggea virosa commonly grows in deciduous…

Sourplums, which belong to the Olacacea family, comprise two species: the Blue Sourplum (Ximenia americana) and the Great Sourplum (Ximenia caffra). Blue Sourplum The Blue Sourplum is naturally distributed in semi-tropical and tropical countries worldwide, as shown on the map….

Nara melons were, in former times, the only food Topnaar people had available for four months (Jan – April) a year. They used conserved fruit pulp and seeds to supplement other food sources for the rest of the year. They…

Milkplum (Englerophytum magalismontanum (Sond.) T.D.Penn). Common names: (Afr) Stamvrug. (Eng) Milkplum, Wild plum. (isiZulu) Amanumbela. (Northern Sotho) Mohlatswa. (siSwati) UmNumbela. (Tshivenda) Munombelo. (Xitsonga) Nombhela. Old name: Bequaertiodendron magalismontanum Distribution Milkplum is widely distributed from Central Africa to Botswana and Eastern…

Monkey orange is the collective common name for the fruit of at least five different Strychnos tree species, which occur from Durban/South Africa up to Western Tigray in Ethiopia. These fruits are highly delicious, and all parts of the trees…

Cowpeas (Vigna lobatifolia) are strong climbers that resemble Mung beans. The stem of this vine is up to 6 m long and develops trifoliate leaves. Its flowers resemble purplish pea-flowers, and the pods are about. 7 – 9 cm (2…

Manketti nuts are a staple food for a variety of people within its distribution range. And there is a strict division of naming them. Khoi-san people (Bushmen) call them ‘Manketti’, whereas Kavango people (Bantus) call them ‘Mongongo’. Both names denominate…

Many African trees extrude edible gums and resin. Notable Vachellia ssp. and Senegalia ssp. (old name: Acacias) are known for their edible gums. Khoi-sani people collect and eat whatever edible gums and resins they find on the go. In our…

Synonyms A. communis, A. incises; Common names Kikwa ki santu Petelo (Kongo), arbre à pain (Fr.), breadfruit Description A tree up to 35m tall produces a wide crown. All parts of the tree produce a white, bitter latex. Fruits are…

Synonym: D. cayenensis var. praehensilis; Common names: Kisadi, sadi, Bisadi (Kongo), Igname de brousse (Fr.), bush yams, forest yam Description A sturdy climbing plant, up to 15 m long, growing from a large tuber that often protrudes from the ground….

Image sequence of cassava’s long way from root to market and shows the processing of cassava in its various steps Source This article is an excerpt of Paul Latham’s and Augustin Konda ku Mbuta’s books ‘Useful plants of Kongo Central…

Synonym: M. utilissima; Common names: Dyoko, Saka Saka (Kongo), Manioc (Fr.), Cassava roots Description A perennial shrub, up to 3 m high, with enlarged tuberous roots and a well-developed root system. There are many varieties, some of which are bitter…

Common names are Mafambu, Dimbu dingi (dingi = gum, resin, incense) (Kongo), Bokodji (Lingala), African mammee apple, Oboto or Djimbo (commerce). Scientific name: Mammea africana. Description A large forest tree up to 45 m tall with a straight, cylindrical trunk…

Okra plants (Abelmoschus esculentus): Synonym: Hibiscus esculentus Common names Dongo, Lonto (Kongo), Dongo dongo, Molenda (Lingala), Gombo (Fr.) Description An erect annual herb usually 1 – 2 m. high. Leaves are 3 to 5 lobed, spirally arranged and may be…

Marula season in Southern Africa typically occurs in February of each year. When Marulas (Sclerocarya birrea) get ripe, they turn from green to yellow and fall from the female Marula trees. On the ground, they ripen fully and will start…

Natal Mahogany (Trichilia emetica) trees have got a dense canopy of dark green, glossy leaves, and a round outer shape of the tree silhouette. They preferably grow in moist places and riparian forests along drainage lines. Natal Mahogany is easy…

The Buffalo thorn tree (Ziziphus mucronata) is called in Afrikaans “Blinkblaar-wag-‘n-bietjie” for its shiny leaves and two thorns, which hold people back when getting caught by them. The shrub or tree has got distinctive zigzag branchlets with pairs of two…

Among the many edible South African plants, few are as remarkable as Spekboom (Portulacaria afra), a member of the Didiereaceae family. Known locally as the elephant bush, this hardy succulent is celebrated for its ecological benefits and, increasingly, for its…