Adenia gummifera

Passifloraceae
Height

25.00 m

Habit

Climber

Growth Rate

None Recorded

Cultivation Status

Wild

Adenia gummifera is a climbing perennial plant with somewhat woody stems that can be up to 30 metres long.
The plant attaches itself to other plants etc by means of tendrils. The base of the stems can be 10cm in diameter.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and glue.

Eastern Africa - southern Ethiopia to S. Africa, as far west as the Congo Basin; Indian Ocean - Seychelles.

Known Hazards

The whole plant is pounded and used as fish poison.

Habitat

Dry and moist forest and bushland at elevations from sea level to 500 metres.

Cultivation Status

Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil.

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
The young leaves are chopped and cooked alone, or mixed with other vegetables such as amaranth or spinach.
Coconut juice or pounded groundnuts may be added and the dish eaten with ugali or rice.

Medicinal

A decoction of the roots is taken as a remedy for malaria, diarrhoea, leprosy and VD.
The decoction is also taken with milk to treat anaemia.
The roots are chewed to treat snakebite.

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

An exudate obtained by heating the stems is used to glue knives on to their handles.

Propagation

Seed
Cuttings

Powered By Zanziholics.