African wild plants with rootstocks reported to be eaten raw: the Monocotyledons, part III

The Iridaceae includes a number of geophytes with apparently edible rootstocks, the corms of four of which are reported to be eaten raw: Lapeirousia bainesii, found in semi-arid portions of the southern summer-rain climate region, locally common in sandy soil; LapeIRousia coerulea, primarily central and northern Namibia (summer-rain), seasonally damp locations, locallyCommon.

Abstract

The Iridaceae includes a number of geophytes with apparently edible rootstocks. This is particularly true of the tropical species of Lapeirousia, the corms of four of which are reported to be eaten raw: Lapeirousia bainesii, found in semi-arid portions of the southern summer-rain climate region, locally common in sandy soil; Lapeirousia coerulea, primarily central and northern Namibia (summer-rain), seasonally damp locations, locally common; Lapeirousia erythrantha, primarily the northeastern portion of the southern summer-rain climate region with outliers in northern (summer-rain) Nigeria, sometimes found in large masses; Lapeirousia schimperi,primarily central portions of the southern summer-rain climate region with disjunct populations in eastern Africa, including west central Sudan, found in seasonally damp locations, locally common. Ferraria glutinosa: warning, corms said to be eaten raw, but also reported to be a hallucinogen and poisonous.