Dioscoreaceae FAMILY

Dioscorea togoensis

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Dioscorea togoensis is a herbaceous perennial plant producing stems about 2 metres long from a slender, deep-rooted tuberous rootstock. A rather weak climber the stems twine right-handed into other plants for support or scramble over the ground. The stems bear bulbils in the leaf axils[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. The small bulbils are gathered from the wild and eaten locally in time of shortage[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeWest tropical Africa - Senegal to Nigeria.

HabitatSavannah and dry Guinean forest, also colonizing well-cultivated land that is reverting to scrub[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ].