Common Name:

General Information

Lapeirousia odoratissima is a perennial plant usually growing 10 - 18cm tall from an underground corm, with some plants up to 25cm tall[].
The corms are a valued food in Namibia, where the plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Tropical Africa - DR Congo, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe.

Habitat

Sandy flats[]. Largely a plant of semiarid habitats, it also occurs in Brachystegia woodland and in exposed places in montane sites, as well as open grassland and Acacia savannah[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Corm
Height	0.15 m
Pollinators	Hawkmoths
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The flowers open toward sunset, at which time they are creamy white. By morning the perianth has turned ivory to buff, and the tepals droop slightly below the horizontal; they wilt by the end of the day. The flowers are most intensely fragrant when they first open but maintain their scent through the following day. Ample nectar is produced in the perianth tube[].

Edible Uses

The corms are a valued food, eaten after roasting in hot ashes[]. Eaten for their water content[]. The corms are 15 - 20mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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