If you would like to support this site, please consider Donating.
Useful Tropical Plants

Hydnora esculenta

Jumelle & H.Perrier

Hydnoraceae

+ Synonyms

Common Name:

Hydnora esculenta
Flower and developing fruit
Photograph by: Bernard Dupont
Creative Commons License
Hydnora esculenta Hydnora esculenta Hydnora esculenta

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[
590
Title
The genus Hydnora
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_intro.php
Publisher
Old Dominion University
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A downloaded web page giving fairly detailed information on the parasitic genus Hydnore.
].
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 *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.00 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusWild

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[
590
Title
The genus Hydnora
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_intro.php
Publisher
Old Dominion University
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A downloaded web page giving fairly detailed information on the parasitic genus Hydnore.
]. 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[
590
Title
The genus Hydnora
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_intro.php
Publisher
Old Dominion University
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A downloaded web page giving fairly detailed information on the parasitic genus Hydnore.
].

Other Uses

The plant is a source of tannins[
590
Title
The genus Hydnora
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/parasitic/hydnora_intro.php
Publisher
Old Dominion University
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A downloaded web page giving fairly detailed information on the parasitic genus Hydnore.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-03. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Hydnora+esculenta>

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.