Dioscoreophyllum volkensii
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| Dioscoreophyllum volkensii | ||||||||||||||
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| Dioscoreophyllum volkensii Engl. |
Dioscoreophyllum volkensii (Serendipity berry), is a tropical dioecious rainforest vine in the family Menispermaceae. It is native throughout most of tropical Africa from Sierra Leone east to Eritrea, and south to Angola and Mozambique. It occurs at low altitudes, from sea level up to 400 m; some authors separate plants from above 200 m as a separate species D. cumminsii (Stapf) Diels.[1]
- Dioscoreophyllum volkensii var. volkensii. Endemic on Bioko.
- Dioscoreophyllum volkensii var. fernandense (Hutch. & Dalziel) Troupin. Mainland Africa.
[edit] Uses
The fruit contains monellin, an intensely sweet protein with potential use as a sugar replacement for diabetic people.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b African Plants Database: Dioscoreophyllum volkensii
- ^ Oselebe, H. O., & Nwankiti, O. C. (2005). Cytology of root tips of Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii. Agro-Science 4 (1): 43-45. Abstract
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