Plants
Pitpit – Edible grasses in Papua New Guinea
Three types of pitpit grow in Papua New Guinea: Coastal pitpit The pitpit plant looks like sugarcane to which it is related. Normally the stalk is thinner than sugarcane. It can grow up to 3 metres high and produces suckers…
African milkbush causes painful blistering and inflammation
Euphorbia tirucalli (Euphorbiaceae) Common names: Ngego, ngewu, nlembonlembo (nlembo = finger) (Kongo), Euphorbe effilée, tirucalli (Fr), finger tree, finger euphorbia, African milkbush Description A leafless succulent shrub with cylindrical shoots, 2 – 8 m tall. All parts produce copious white…
Wild Karuka and another pandanus fruit species
The Pandanaceae botanical family comprises following six species in Papua New Guinea: ‘Karuka’ and ‘Marita’ were already discussed at this website in two former articles. ‘Karuka’, see here, and ‘Marita’ see there. In the following, ‘Wild Karuka’ and Pandanus antaresensis…
Karuka – cultivated pandanus fruits and nuts
Tok Pisin: Karuka Scientific name: Pandanus jiulianettii Two species of pandanus are commonly used for the nuts that are eaten. They are Karuka (Pandanus jiulianettii Martelli) and wild Karuka (Pandanus brosimos Merr & Perry). At least 3 other species of…
Giant Taro – a plant with a giant root
English: Giant taro Scientific name: Alocasia macrorrhiza (L.) Schott Synonyms: Alocasia indica (Lour.) Spach Plant family: Araceae Description of Giant Taro plants A very large herb of the taro family. It has a stout erect trunk up to 4 m…
Swiss pine cones and their uses
The Swiss pine (Pinus cembra), goes by different names in German-speaking countries, such as ‘Zirbe,’ ‘Arve,’ ‘Arolla pine,’ or ‘Austrian stone pine.’ For generations, people have used the nuts of this particular pine species as food during the winter months,…
Elephant diggings in dry riverbeds
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) require approximately 40 to 60 gallons (150 to 220 liters) of water daily to maintain their health. They obtain this water from various sources, including open water bodies and wells dug in sandy riverbeds. Additionally, elephants…
Use of Tsamma melons in Namibia
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…
Marita – a lesser known pandanus fruit
English names: Marita or ‘Red Fruit’ Tok pisin name: Marita Bahasa Indonesia name: Buah Merah Scientific name: Pandanus conoideus Lamarck The marita pandanus plant A short much branched screw pine with many prop roots. The prop roots have prickles. Trees…
Seekoraal plants in Southern Africa
Seekoraal is the Afrikaans term for the Salicornia natalensis plant, which used to belong to the Sacocornia taxonomic genus before being reclassified under the Salicornia genus in 2017. Salicornia plants are succulent, halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plants that are part of…
Yam varieties in Papua New Guinea
Four species of yam are commonly grown and used for food in Papua New Guinea – but often naming in villages and naming by scientists does not agree. Many village people regard potato yam and 5-leaflet yam as varieties of…
Solomon’s Sago – another Sago palm species
How is this sago different? The Solomon’s sago palm that occurs in the North Solomon province and in the Solomon Islands is quite different from the sago that grows in other areas of Papua New Guinea. It has a different…
Sago – staple food in parts of Papua New Guinea
Sago palms Tok Pisin language: Saksak; Scientific name: Metroxylon sagu Rottb. There are 2 species in Papua New Guinea. The other one occurs in North Solomons Province and in the Solomon Islands. Its scientific name is Metroxylon salomonense. The sago…
Sourplum fruits for food and oil
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 around the world, as shown on…
Using Honey Locust Pods as Food
The Honey locust tree, also known as Thorny locust, derives its genus name (Gleditsia) from a former director of the Botanical garden in Berlin. Its species name (G. triacanthos) means ‘Three thorns’, which refers to the typical arrangement of its…
Squid bamboo soup from Vietnam
Bamboo is a popular ingredient in traditional Vietnamese cuisine, especially during the year-end meal on the 30th day of the last lunar month of the year. One of the most famous and delicious bamboo soups is the squid bamboo soup…
Nara melons: Bread of the Namib desert
Nara melons were in former times the only food Topnaar people had available for 4 months (Jan – April) a year. The rest of the year they used conserved fruit pulp and seeds for supplementing other food sources. They were…
Milkplum (Stamvrug) fruits grow directly out of the tree trunk
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, an eagerly sought-after fruit
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…
Chewing sticks for dental care in Southern Africa
Chewing sticks, or toothbrush sticks, were widely used in former times from Ethiopia down to the southern tip of Africa. Nowadays, plastic toothbrushes are commonly used and only in very rural parts of this area, chewing sticks are still commonplace….
Purple Laver – cherished food in many cultures
Purple Laver (Porphyra capensis) belongs to a genus of cold-water seaweeds that grow in cold, shallow seawater. More specifically, it belongs to red algae phylum of laver species (from which comes laverbread), comprising approximately 70 species. It grows in the…
Bamboo shoot harvesting at the Red River
With more than 70 species of bamboo over the country, we can easily find bamboo thickets anywhere in Vietnam. Many of them could nurture one of the most popular and favored vegetarian foods for Vietnamese people, which like bamboo shoot…
Breadfruits (Artocarpus altilis) in Central Africa
Synonyms A. communis, A. incises; Common names Kikwa ki santu Petelo (Kongo), arbre à pain (Fr.), breadfruit Description A tree up to 35m tall producing a wide crown. All parts of the tree produce a white, bitter latex. Fruits are…
Bush Yams in Western- and Central Africa
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 which often protrudes from the ground….
‘Leopard claw’ grass for catching rats and mice
Common names Nkansu ngo (= claw of the leopard), Leopard claw grass, nzefo za ngo, kansingo (Kongo) Description A perennial grass with culms 30 – 150 cm high, growing from scaly rhizomes. Leaf blades are spear shaped, 10 – 40…
Indochina Dragon Plums from Hanoi streets
The Indochina Dragon Plum (Dracontomelon duperreanum) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Anacardiaceae. In Vietnamese it is called: chi sấu). Dragon Plums are one of the most popular kind of trees on the side of Hanoi streets….
Traditional processing of cassava in Congo
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…
Cassava, a staple food in Central Africa
Synony:m 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…
Tetracera alnifolia – a vine for water shortages
Tetracera alnifolia (Dilleniaceae); Synonym T. alnifolia subsp. alnifolia; Common names Kiziazi, nziazi, nziazia (Kongo), liane à eau (Fr.), water tree Description A woody creeper up to 20 m long and up to 10 cm. in diameter. Leaves are 4 -…