Cayratia gracilis

Family: Vitaceae

What it is like

A creeper. The stems and branches are smooth. It has tendrils. The leaves have 5-8 sets of leaflets. The leaf blade is 7.5 cm long by 3.5 cm wide. They are narrowly oval. They taper to the tip and are rounded at the base. There are teeth along the edge. The flowers are in the axils of leaves and are about 10 cm long. The fruit are 6.5 mm long by 6.5 mm wide. There are 4 seeds in the fruit. They are 5.5 mm long. The two inner surfaces are flat.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in shady and damp places in the savannah and lowland forests. It grows from sea level to 1,500 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are occasionally eaten as a vegetable. In Senegal it is eaten with the roots of Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus).

It is a minor vegetable.

Edible parts

Fruit, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Cikumba, e-Suhp, e-Tuhp, Faba diulo, Mwungera, Teyde, Umuboombo, Uva-de-sancho

Synonyms

Cissus gracilis Guill. & Perr.; Vitis gracilis (Guill. & Perr.) Bak.;