Hydnora esculenta
Jumelle & H.Perrier
Hydnoraceae
Common Name:
General Information
Hydnora esculenta is an unmistakable plant - a totally parasitic, perennial that is without any chlorophyll or leaves at all. With its vegetative parts looking more like a fungus, it is one of the strangest plants in the world. Its vegetative plant body is highly reduced and consists of only roots and flowers - it belongs to the only family of angiosperms with no leaves or scales of any sort. Parasitic on the roots of host trees, especially Acacia spp., it has an underground stem, or pseudo-rhizome, that grows into the host's roots and so extracts food. The plant is only seen when the tips of the flowers push out of the ground - even the fruit develops below the soil surface[
].
The edible fruit is gathered from the wild and is much esteemed locally[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
Africa - Madagascar.
Habitat
Forests and thickets[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.00 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
A plant of the subarid lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations below 500 metres[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Edible Uses
Fruit[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. A pleasant flavour[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
]. A juicy, white pulp with a sour taste[
]. About the size of a pomegranate[
46- Title
- Dictionary of Economic Plants.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Uphof. J. C. Th.
- Publisher
- Weinheim
- Year
- 1959
- ISBN
- -
- Description
- An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
Medicinal
The plant is rich in tannins and has been used as an astringent medicine to treat diarrhoea[
].
Other Uses
The plant is a source of tannins[
].
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
