Ntanta
Grewia carpinifolia

Family: Malvaceae

What it is like

A scrambling or climbing shrub. It can grow 6 m or more high.

There are about 200 Grewia species. They are mostly tropical. The fruit of most may be edible. These were in the Sparrmanniaceae and the Tiliaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows on dry soils. It grows in patches of secondary jungle in closed forest in West Africa. It can grow in arid places. It occurs in the Western Ghats in India.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, India, Ivory Coast, Middle East, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Togo, West Africa, Yemen

How it is used for food

The leaves are eaten as a vegetable. The ripe fruit are used as a dessert fruit and also as a vegetable. The bark is cooked and eaten.

The flower nectar is eaten especially by children.

Edible parts

Shoots, leaves, fruit, nectar, flowers, vegetable, root

How it is grown

In India fruit are produced July to November.

Its other names

Local names

Akpet, Nkukumbe, Ntabuna, Ntanta

Synonyms

Grewia biflora G. Don; Grewia rautanenii Schinz; Vinticena carpinifolia (Juss.) Burret;