Common Name:

General Information

Lapeirousia schimperi is a perennial plant producing a single, usually several-branched, annual stem 20 - 100 tall from an underground corm[, ].
The edible corms are an important article of food in Namibia, where the plant is commonly harvested from the wild for local use.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Eastern and southern Africa - Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, S. Africa.

Habitat

Moist, open grasslands[]. Moist situations in otherwise largely arid country. It typically occurs in washes, the so-called omurambas of Namibia, dambo margins, stream sides, seasonal marshes, and in damp grassland[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Corm
Height	0.65 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The flowers open in late afternoon and last through the night, but gradually wilt the next day. Some collections note a sweet fragrance when the flowers are open, but live plants from Namibia were scentless, suggesting variation in this character[].

Edible Uses

The corms are a valued food, eaten raw or after roasting in hot ashes[, ]. After roasting, the corms are sometimes pounded, then soaked in water and stewed[]. The corms can be up to 30mm long and 22mm wide, they are formed at a depth of around 10cm in the soil[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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