| Fockea edulis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Fockea |
| Species: | F. edulis |
| Binomial name | |
| Fockea edulis K. Schum. 1895 | |
Fockea edulis is a species of caudiciform plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to South Africa [1] and Namibia.
Karl Moritz Schumann described this species in 1895.
A common name is Hottentot bread due to the milky, somewhat sweetish flavour of the edible root which is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use. The plant's latex is said to be poisonous. [2] In Afrikaans the plant is called bergbaroe, bergkambroo, kambaroo, kambroo, kambro, or hotnotswaatlemoen. In Khoi it is called !Koo, !Ku, or !Kuu. [3] [4]
A semi-deciduous perennial caudiciform with fat, twisted grey roots. In the wild, the caudex is partially or totally buried and tends to grow faster this way, reaching up to 60 cm in diameter. The thin vine branches may reach a length of up to 4 meters, and climb on any type of available support. The leaves are green, entire and oblong.
Fockeas are dioecious, so a male plant and a female plant are needed to produce seeds. The flowers are whitish-green, not very showy but lightly scented, small (0.6-1.5 cm wide) vygie-like flowers surrounded by a large, thick, spider-like calyx. The flowers are pollinated by fruit flies. The plant produces grey-greenish seed pods.
This species is widespread in southern Africa where it grows in warmer drier areas, dry savannah and rocky slopes. It is of easy cultivation and hardy when kept reasonably dry and watered only enough to keep the tuber from shriveling. Although it shows decreased activity in the January – April period, it never goes into complete dormancy and always carries some leaves. Plants cannot tolerate more than occasional light frosts with temperatures dropping as low as -2 °C. [5]
Fennel is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.
Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. Cyclamen species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves.
Ziziphus mauritiana, also known as Chinese date, Chinee apple, Indian plum, Indian jujube and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae.
Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear's breeches, sea dock, bearsfoot or oyster plant, is a herbaceous perennial plant with an underground rhizome in the genus Acanthus. It is regarded as an invasive species in some jurisdictions. For centuries, stone or bronze stylized versions of acanthus leaves have appeared as decoration on certain styles of architecture and furniture.
Cordeauxia edulis is a plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus Cordeauxia. Known by the common name yeheb bush, it is one of the economically most important wild plant at the Horn of Africa, but it is little known outside of its distribution area. It is a multipurpose plant, which allows the survival of nomads by providing them with seeds. Further the bush serves forage for livestock, firewood and dye. Its wild population is currently declining. Because it is potentially valuable for other hot, dry regions as a resource for food and fodder, it's recommended to take measures against its extinction.
Amaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as slender amaranth or green amaranth.
Kigelia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. The genus consists of only one species, Kigelia africana, which occurs throughout tropical Africa. The so-called sausage tree grows a fruit that is up to 60 cm long, weighs about 7 kg, and resembles a sausage in a casing.
Inga is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. Inga's leaves are pinnate, and flowers are generally white. Many of the hundreds of species are used ornamentally.
Protea caffra, native to South Africa, is a small tree or shrub which occurs in open or wooded grassland, usually on rocky ridges. Its leaves are leathery and hairless. The flower head is solitary or in clusters of 3 or 4 with the involucral bracts a pale red, pink or cream colour. The fruit is a densely hairy nut. The species is highly variable and has several subspecies.
Inga edulis known as ice-cream-bean, joaquiniquil, cuaniquil, guama or guaba, is a fruit native to South America. It is in the mimosoid tribe of the legume family Fabaceae. It is widely grown, especially by Indigenous Amazonians, for shade, food, timber, medicine, and production of the alcoholic beverage cachiri. It is popular in Peru, Ecuador, Pernambuco-Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. The name inga is derived from its name with the Tupí people of South America. Its name "ice cream bean" originates from the sweet flavor and smooth texture of the pulp.
Brabejum is a genus of a single species of large evergreen tree, Brabejum stellatifolium in the family Proteaceae, commonly called wild almond, bitter almond or ghoeboontjie. It is restricted in the wild to South Africa's Western Cape province, where it grows in thickets along the banks of streams. The plant is of botanical interest as being Africa's only member of the large grevilleoid subfamily. It is a bushy small tree with branches widely at ground level and numerous erect vigorous stems. Leaves grow up to 6 in (15 cm) long, narrow and bluntly toothed, appear at intervals along the branches, mostly in whorls of 6. In summer, the plant bears white flowers densely crowded on spikes arising from rusty buds at the leaf axils. The fruits to 2 in (5 cm) long, magenta to reddish brown, similar to an almond, appear in autumn. The nut is too bitter to eat; however, in earlier times it was boiled, roasted, and ground to make a "coffee" drink.
Moringa stenopetala, commonly known as the African Moringa or cabbage tree, is a deciduous tree in the flowering plant genus Moringa, native to Kenya and Ethiopia. A drought-resistant species, it is characterized by its bottle-shaped trunk, long twisted seed pods, and edible leaves likened to cabbage, from which its common name is derived. M. stenopetala is extirpated in the wild in Ethiopia, though still grown there as a crop on the terraces of the Ethiopian Highlands, mainly in the Konso region.
Ipomoea arborescens, the tree morning glory, is a flowering plant coming from the family Convolvulaceae. It grows fast and produces semi succulent stems. This tropical plant is mostly found in Mexico. It flowers in late autumn and winter. Its common name in Nahuatl is Cazahuatl or Cazahuate.
Mitrophyllum is a genus of succulent plants of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the arid region around the Richtersveld, on the border of South Africa and Namibia.
Cyphostemma mappia is a species of caudiciform succulent plant endemic to Mauritius. It is sometimes known as the "Mauritian baobab", though it is member of the grape family (Vitaceae) and unrelated to the true Baobabs of Africa.
Iris schachtii is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from central Anatolia, in Turkey. It has small, thin grey-green leaves, a short stem with 1–3 branches, which are normally, covered with a green leaf with purple staining. It has 2 or more fragrant flowers in late spring, which come in shades of yellow or purple, or violet and yellow,. It has a yellow or white with yellow-tips beard. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions, but prefers regions with dry, hot summers.
Iris acutiloba is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of the Caucasus and found in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Dagestan in the North Caucasus, and Iran. It is a dwarf species, with narrow, falcate or curved leaves, it has one flower in spring or early summer, that comes in shades from cream, creamy white, whitish, pale brown, light grey, to pale violet. It is heavily veined or streaked and pointed, with 2 dark spots and brown, purple, dark purple, or black short beard. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. There are two subspecies, Iris acutiloba subsp. lineolata and Iris acutiloba subsp. longitepala.
Leucospermum grandiflorum is an evergreen, upright shrub of up to 2½ m high that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has elliptic, greyish green, softly hairy leaves and initially egg-shaped heads with yellow flowers, later flatter with flowers turning orange. From the center of each flower emerges a long pale yellow style with a pink thickened tip that is bent slightly clockwise, giving the entire head the appearance of a pincushion. Its flowers can be found between July and December. It is called grey-leaf fountain-pincushion or rainbow pincushion in English. L. grandiflorum is an endemic species that can only be found in nature in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Mimetes stokoei, the mace pagoda, is an evergreen, upright, hardly branching, large shrub of 1–2 m high in the family Proteaceae. It has silvery, oval leaves of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.2 in) long and 2 1⁄2–4 cm (1.0–1.6 in) wide, with one large tooth supported by two smaller teeth near the tip, at an upward angle and somewhat overlapping each other. The inflorescences are set just below the growing tip, are cylinder-shaped, 10–12 cm (4–5 in) high, topped by a crest of small, more or less horizontal, pinkish-purple tinged leaves. It consists of several flower heads in the axils of golden leaves with a pinkish wash that form a hood shielding the underlying flower head. Each flower head contains eight to twelve individual flowers, with amber-colored styles topped by blackish purple pollen presenters and grey silky perianth lobes. It is endemic to the Fynbos ecoregion of South Africa, being confined to the Kogelberg mountain range. The mace pagoda was twice presumed extinct, but reappeared in its natural habitat from seed, after a wildfire several decades later.
Carpobrotus modestus, commonly known as inland pigface, is a succulent perennial of the family Aizoaceae, native to the coasts of Australia. It produces purple flowers which mature into fruits and is mainly used as a groundcover succulent or as a drought tolerant plant.
