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Dioscorea elephantipes Engl.

Hottentot-bread (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Dioscoreales > Dioscoreaceae > Dioscorea

Characteristics

Dioecious climber, 0.5-3.0 m high; branches rigid, twining; tuber greyish brown, with 4-7-sided, tortoise-like plates of thick cork. Leaves alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, folded, very widely ovate, up to 20 x 18 mm, 5-7-veined, base rounded or slightly cordate, apex ± emarginate, mucronate, margins entire. Male inflorescences: panicles up to 150 mm long. Male flowers many; perianth mustard-coloured, funnel-shaped; anthers inserted at lip of perianth tube; filaments cream-coloured; pistillode rudimentary. Female inflorescences: racemes up to 80 mm long, up to 15-flowered. Female flowers: perianth mustard-coloured, funnel-shaped; staminodes rudimentary; ovary inferior ± 7 mm long; stigmatic surfaces bilobed, deflexed. Flowering time Nov.-Feb. Fruit a capsule 20 x 18 mm, light brown.
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Deciduous perennial with a large, exposed tuber covered with greyish, angular, corky plates, stems twisting to the left, up to 0.9 m long. Leaves heart-shaped. Male flowers in erect, spiny racemes, female flowers in spinescent, nodding to spreading spikes, yellowish green.
Perennial with exposed, armour-plated tuber, stems divaricate, twisting to the left, to 90 cm. Leaves heart-shaped. Male flowers in erect, spiny racemes, female flowers in spinescent, nodding to spreading spikes, yellowish green.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support climber
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 12-12

Usage

Uses food medicinal
Edible roots
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 21 - 36
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Dioscorea elephantipes unspecified picture

Distribution

Dioscorea elephantipes world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:317936-1
WFO ID wfo-0000390554
COL ID 36CM7
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Dioscorea elephantopus Dioscorea elephantipes Dioscorea montana Rhizemys elephantipes Rhizemys montana Tamus elephantipes l'hér. Testudinaria elephantipes (l'hér.) Testudinaria elephantipes Dioscorea testudinaria Testudinaria montana Testudinaria elephantipes f. montana
WorldFloraDB 2024