List of Plants used for Food

	Botanical Name Parts used for Food Availability Remarks Adansonia digitata raw pulp of the fruit is eaten or prepared into a kind of juice May onwards naturally only occurs in East Bushmanland Aloe littoralis, Aloe zebrina red flowers are cooked to make a sauce A. littoralis: May A. zebrina: Febr. - March Amaranthus hybridus subsp. hybridus raw leaves are cooked as vegetable or soup rainy season Amaranthus thunbergii raw leaves are cooked as vegetable rainy season Ancylanthos bainesii raw fruits could not be observed Annona stenophylla subsp. nana raw fruits February - March Bauhinia petersiana subsp. macrantha seeds are baked in hot ash February - May Burkea africana edible caterpillars feed on the leaves caterpillars: January - February Camptorrhiza strumosa corms are eaten raw or baked in hot ash rainy season Ceropegia sp. raw tuber whole year tuber is more a source of water than of food Ceropegia multiflora subsp. tentaculata raw tuber and raw leaves rainy season tuber is more important than leaves Citrullus lanatus roasted seeds and the flesh of the melon rainy season up to June non-bitter varieties are cultivated Clerodendron uncinatum raw fruit flesh September onwards Coccinia rehmannii raw or baked tuber and fruits rainy season Combretum collinum edible gum whole year Commiphora cf. angolensis young roots are a source of water whole year Corallocarpus bainesii baked tuber whole year Cucumis anguria var. longaculeatus whole fruit is eaten raw or dried and cooked fresh May and June; dried June onwards for one year non-bitter varieties are cultivated Cucumis metuliferus raw fruit flesh and dried and cooked skin May onwards non-bitter varieties are cultivated Cyperus cf. fulgens bulb is eaten raw or baked in hot ash rainy season Dialium englerianum raw leaves and raw fruit flesh leaves: November onwards, fruit: May onwards Dichapetalum cymosum raw fruit flesh November onwards Be carefully as the skin and the kernel are poisonous! Diospyros chamaethamnus fruit flesh is sucked or prepared into a non-alcoholic drink, a coffee substitute or a spirit could not be observed Dipcadi sp. cooked bulb whole year raw bulb is slightly poisonous Duvalia polita var. polita raw shoots above ground whole year Fockea angustifolia raw tuber whole year most important source of water Ficus cf. carica raw fruits April - May alien tree Grewia avellana raw fruits March - October Grewia bicolor raw fruits January onwards Grewia falcistipula raw fruits - largest amongst Grewia fruits Grewia flava raw fruits February onwards Grewia flavescens var. flavescens raw fruits March onwards Grewia retinervis raw fruits January onwards Guibourtia coleosperma raw seed and red skin August onwards Gymnema sylvestre fruit is roasted in hot ash June onwards Hibiscus sabdariffa raw or dried leaves and dried calyx fresh: February onwards, fried: February onwards for almost one year cultivated and dried in large quantities Hibiscus cf. schinzii leaves are prepared as vegetable or soup rainy season Hoffmannseggia burchellii subsp. burchellii raw, tuberous roots whole year Ipomea sinensis subsp. blepharosepala leaves raw or cooked January - May Kedrostis hirtella tuber is baked in hot ash whole year Lannea edulis var. edulis raw fruits could not be observed Lapeirousia odoratissima raw tuber rainy season rare Lapeirousia otaviensis dried, pounded and cooked tuber rainy season Manihot esculenta young, cooked leaves October - June alien plant, cultivated close to homesteads Merremia palmata boiled leaves rainy season Momordica balsamina red pulp covering the seeds is sucked February - July Ochna pulchra seeds for oil November onwards Oxygonum alatum leaves are eaten raw or cooked rainy season Pygmaeothamnus zeyheri var. zeyheri raw fruits June onwards Raphionacme velutina tuber is a source of water whole year Rhus marlothii raw fruits March onwards Rhus tenuinervis raw fruits January onwards Rhynchosia caribaea roots for preparing a porridge or a drink whole year Salacia luebertii fruit flesh is sucked March - April Schinziophyton rautanenii fresh fruit flesh and nut May onwards, can be stored for one year the most important food source Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra fruit flesh and nut May onwards naturally only occurs in East Bushmanland Strychnos cocculoides fruit flesh November - January Strychnos pungens fruit flesh December - January Terfezia pfeilii baked truffle March to May after a good rainy season Terminalia sericea edible gum, edible caterpillars are feeding on the leaves gum: whole year, caterpillars: rainy season Tylosema esculentum seeds are baked in hot ash, raw tuber is a source of water seeds: July onwards, tuber: whole year Vangueria infausta subsp. infausta raw fruits January to May Vigna lobatifolia root swellings are eaten raw or baked whole year Ximenia caffra var. caffra fruit flesh December onwards Ziziphus mucronata subsp. mucronata fruits for distilling a strong spirit could not be observed ‘Sa!ku’ whole fresh pods or dry seeds are boiled could not be observed !kowu raw leaves rainy season

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