Common Name: False Yam

General Information

False yam is an erect, woody herb or scandent shrub producing a number of stems up to 1 metre long from a large, subterranean, long-rooted tuber[].
A popular medicinal plant in its local area, the plant is also sometimes cultivated locally in Senegal for these tubers, which are eaten, especially in times of famine[].

Known Hazards

The tubers are poisonous raw, and need to be treated before eating them[]. If they are consumed without detoxification colic and dysentery will result, and if eaten in quantity death will follow within a few days332]. The poisonous principle of the tuber is a bitter; an alkaloid is also present, and a gum-resin at 0 .9 - 2 .8% concentration[].
The leaves are toxic to sheep and cause death332].

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to S. Nigeria, also Central African Republic and Sudan.

Habitat

Roadsides and waste places in the savannah scrub[]. A weed of cultivation, it is common around villages and on old farmland, especially in yam-fields[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Bees, Flies
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Grows best in tropical areas with a marked wet and dry season, but with only moderate rainfall of 800 - 1,000mm in the wet season[].
Requires a sunny position[].Grows in the wild in light, sandy soils[].
The plant often becomes a weed. It is very vigorous, rapidly invading newly cleared and cultivated land[]. Eradication is fraught with difficulty because of its large, or very large, tuber, which may reach 30 - 50 cm diameter, or 25 kg in weight, set 30 cm or so deep in the soil, and with long creeping roots[].
In Senegal yields have been reported to average 2 - 3 tonnes per hectare, although in some parts of west Africa yields are reported to reach 20 tonnes[].

Edible Uses

Tubers - used as a famine food[]. They must be washed, to remove a poisonous bitter compound[].
The enormous tuber is fleshy and on the whole is poisonous. With suitable treatment it has in the past served as a famine-food. It needs to be cut up and placed in running water for several days to remove the bitterness and to facilitate maceration. When dried it is pounded and the fibres strained out, then boiled down to a paste. The product is mainly starch and is said to be palatable[].
The tubers contain about 10 - 15% of starch, the grains of which are irregular in shape, some spherical and some elliptical, with lengths varying from 12 to 50 microns. Flour manufactured from the tubers has the following approximate composition: water 11.7%; protein 10.3&; fat 0.7%; carbohydrate 74.5%; ash 2.8%; calcium 150 mg/100 g; iron 7 mg/100 g; thiamine 0.04 mg/100 g; riboflavin 0.18 mg/100 g; niacin 1.4 mg/100 g. In addition, a bitter toxic principle, reported to be a gum resin, is present in quantities ranging from 0.9 - 2.8%[].
As a common weed of many savannah areas, the root could be exploited where crop-failure is likely[]. Selection for ameliorated strains should be considered[].

The fruit when ripe is red with a thin sweet gelatinous pulp which is edible[]. It is often eaten bt children[].

The kernel is eaten in time of dearth after pounding and drying to yield a flour[]. Normally it is deemed poisonous and is soaked for a week with daily changes of water, then dried in the sun for 2 days and finally ground to flour[]. It can be prepared with millet or beans (enap) to produce a palatable food said to be 'good enough for guests'[].

Medicinal

This species is one of the grand panaceas of traditional medicine in western tropical Africa. The leaf, always prescribed alone, is used for the treatment of numerous diverse conditions[].
Taken internally, a decoction of the leafy twigs is used in the treatment of internal haemorrhages; coughs and all chest affections; as an antidote to snake bites; feverish states[]. When treating feverish states, it is normally recommended that the patient should also sleep the night on a bed of the newly-cut leaves332].
A decoction of the twigs and roots is given to adults in Senegal for general debility of an undiagnosed origin[]
The leaves are also applied externally in baths and washes[]. The heated leaves are applied topically to points of pain, particularly in elephantiasis, as an analgesic[].
The leaf-sap is used as a treatment for eye infections[].

The root is considered to be tonic and is put to various medicinal uses[]. A decoction is given by draught for treating dermatitis, headache, chest-complaints, kidney-troubles, senescence, debility, internal pain, etc[]. It is also given to children with rickets, and is also used against dental caries[].
A root-macerate is given by draught or in baths for general fatigue[].
The tip ends of the roots are used as an abortifacient and as a treatment for impotence[].

Other Uses

The leaf is used as a container for carrying cashew nuts[].

The leaves are used to blacken pottery[].

Propagation

Seed -
Division of the tubers[].

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