Common Name:

General Information

Dioscorea smilacifolia is a herbaceous, perennial climbing plant with wiry, often spiny stems growing about 4 metres long from a tuberous rootstock. The stems twine right-handed around other plants for support, or scramble over the ground. The plant also sometimes bears bulbils in the leaf axils[].
The tubers are sometimes harvested from the wild for local use, but generally only in times of scarcity. The plant is sometimes grown in a small way, but mainly as an insurance against difficult times[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to DR Congo and Uganda, south to Angola.

Habitat

Not known

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial Climber
Height	3.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

The root is only eaten in time of scarcity, and then after careful preparation. Even then a bitterness remains after cooking. Some alkaloid has been detected in Nigerian material[].

Medicinal

The leaves are rubbed onto cuts[]. Three leaves are rubbed on the temples in three applications in order to cure epilepsy[]. The leaves, after being passed through a fire, are pulped to a paste for rubbing on the head to relieve headache[].

A decoction of the stem is drunk as a treatment for vertigo and hernia[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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