Mondia (Mondia whitei)

Family: Apocynaceae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

A vigorous, perennial, climbing shrub known as Mondia or White’s Ginger (Mondia whitei) is grown in tropical Africa for a wide range of uses including food, medicine, or fiber. It grows about 8 m long and has a large and tuberous rootstock. The leaves are large and opposite, characterized by purple lower-surface veins. The flowers are reddish-purple with a green edge and are short-lived.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Leaves, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

flavour food and tea. — The fresh or dried leaves are cooked, sometimes with peanut butter, and eaten as a vegetable.; The dried powdered leaves are added to food as a condiment.; The vanilla-like odour may have potential as a novel African fragrance or spice.; The fruits are considered edible in some parts of Africa, although in southern Africa the seeds are used as an arrow poison.

Habitat & North American Range

Found in a variety of habitats, ranging from humid forest, riverine forest, swamp forest and forest margins to humid or semi-dry savannah, sometimes along river banks, at elevations from sea-level up to 2,000 metres. (Zone 10)