English name: elephant's foot (Hottentoto's bread)
Scientific name:Dioscorea elephantipes
Country of origin: South Africa (Cape Province)
Description
Perennial tuber plant distributed in the arid soil of South Africa. Dioecious. In the Arid Land Research Center, it blooms from the end of September to early October. The leaves fall during the dry season, and the vine-like stalk grows and new leaves develop at the beginning of the rainy season. The number of stalks increases to 4–7 as it grows. The tuber is similar to a turtle shell and approximately 3/4 is exposed to the air, while large ones have a diameter of 90 cm and a weight of 350 kg. Propagation is performed by seeding. The tuber contains saponins. There are increasingly fewer wild species.
Uses:
Tuber (food, medicine)
References
Archibald, E.E.A. 1967. The genus Dioscorea in the Cape Province west of East London. Journal of South African Botany. 33: 1-46.
Smith, P., Burgoyne, P. and van Wyk, E. 2001. Rare plants rediscovered
in the Northern Cape. Samara 1:1. (http://assets.kew.org/files/assets/PPCONT_013689_Primary.pdf)
堀田満・緒方健・新田あや・星川清親・柳宗民・山崎耕宇（編）．1989．世界有用植物事典．平凡社、東京．
