Fabaceae FAMILY
Elephantorrhiza elephantina
Elephantorrhiza elephantina
Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5
Safety & Hazards
The seed is toxic to sheep (lethal dose 250 g), rabbits (lethal dose 5 - 7.5 g/kg) and guinea-pigs, causing gastro-enteritis and pulmonary oedema[1].
Cultivation Details
HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—
Succeeds in the drier areas of tropical and subtropical climates. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[2].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Elephantorrhiza+elephantina>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
- [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [3]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.