Yoruba soft cane
Megaphrynium macrostachyum

Family: Marantaceae

What it is like

A semi-woody herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It forms clumps with stems 2-4 m high. There is one large leaf 30-60 cm long by 12-30 cm wide. The flowers are on the leaf stalk below the leaf. The flowers are white with purple. The fruit are round and red. The pulp is white. The seed is black.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in wet places in the forest in West Africa.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo DR, Congo R, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, West Africa

How it is used for food

The young leaf button is cooked as a vegetable. The fruit pulp is eaten raw. The seeds are roasted and eaten. The stem fibres are burnt as a salt.

Edible parts

Fruit, stem - fibres, leaves - button, vegetable, seeds

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Angule, Bakongo, Bale, Bindiondi, Bobokwe, Dingungu, Gilipi, Ilipi, Iungu, Kangkuruma, Kongo, Likongo, Likongo beye, Mangungu, Meye, Ngilipi, Ngongo, Oheye, Okongoto, Ungoli

Synonyms

Phrynium adenocarpum (K. Schum.) Baker; Phrynium adenocarpum Baker P; Phrynium benthamii Baker; Phrynium macrophyllum (K. Schum.) Baker; Phrynium oxycarpum (K. Schum.) Baker; Phyllodes adenocarpa K. Schum.; Phyllodes macrophylla K. Schum.; Phyllodes macrostachya K. Schum.; Sarcophrynium adenocarpum (K. Schum.) K. Schum.; Sarcophrynium arnoldianum De Wild.; Sarcophrynium macrophyllum (K. Schum.) Hutch.; Sarcophrynium macrostachyum Hutch.; Sarcophrynium oxycarpum (K. Schum.) K. Schum.; Sarcophrynium spicatum K. Schum.;