time the flesh sweetens. Unfortunately, the plants cross very readily with the *' hot " 

 kinds hence care must be taken to keep them well apart. 



The fruits, either green or fully ripe, make a good side-dish when cooked with 

 groundnuts ; they may be used as an alternative to tomatoes to add to leaves when 

 they are cooking. The skins of the fruits may be dried out to use later in the year 

 as a side-dish. The ripe fruits are an extremely rich source of carotene {provitamin 

 A). Paprika is the pulverized rind of this kind of pepper. 



Ref. 13; 23. 



89. Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (Sapind.) Heart seed. 



Msendecere (N), (This name is more commonly applied to Polygonum serrulatum.) 



A perennial slender herbaceous climber with biternate compound leaves and 

 axillary 3 -flowered long stalked umbels, with a pair of opposite spirally decurved 

 tendrils from near the apex, capsules 3-angular inflated about an inch in diameter 

 with spherical black seeds with a conspicuous heart-shaped aril. 



The leaves are said occasionally to be eaten as a side-dish (Zomba). 

 Ref. 1; 7, 



♦90. Carica papaya L. (Caric.) Pawpaw. 



Papaya (N), cipapayi (To), babaya (Y). 



A fast-growing herbaceous branchless, dioecious tree native of tropical Amer- 

 ica, attaining a height of about 15-20 ft. It bears a crown of very large, long 

 stalked, palmate leaves from the axils of which the large green fruit are produced. 

 It grows easily from seed and will bear at the end of the first year at Lake levels. 

 Widespread up to 3,500 ft. and becoming naturalized in some places. 



The ripe fruit is eaten as an extra food. The unripe fruits are cooked together 

 with pounded groundnuts as a side-dish (S. Province). The unripe fruits are boiled, 

 mashed with pounded groundnuts, chillies and salt to form mamboga, a dish used 

 particularly during the month of fasting by Mahommedans, as a food with which 

 to " break " the daily fast. (Fort Johnston). The young shoots and leaves are 

 eaten (Malaya). An infusion of the root mixed with other roots is used as a cure 

 for syphilis. The drug, papain, is obtained from the milky latex of the unripe fruits. 

 The leaves are used to wrap round meat to make it more tender. 



Ref. 4; 19; 23; 26; 29. 



91. Carissa edulis Vahl (Apocyn.). 

 Nkolokolo (Y), mpabulu (N). 



A much-branched evergreen spiny glabrescent shrub up to 12 ft. tall, leaves 

 sessile opposite, leathery, flowers sweetly scented reddish-pink, long tubular, con- 

 gested in umbels at the ends of the branches, fruit a large red berry, black when ripe ; 

 found near streams in Brachystegia-U apaca savannah or in destroyed temperate 

 rain forest sites. The berries are very sweet and edible, a medicine for intestinal 

 worms in cattle and man (Tt). 



Ref. 14; 17; 26. 



92. Cassia petersiana BoUe (Caesalp.). 



Mpatsacokolo (Ng, C), ntelewe (Y), bwembanyani (N), ntantanyerere, ntowe (G), 

 mnyasole (To), mtakanyerere (He). See C. singueana, same native names. 



A shrub or tree up to 40 ft. with pinnate leaves, yellow flowers and compressed 

 hairy pods. Common up to 3,500 ft. or more on sandy soil. 



The pods are edible, they are either eaten raw or a gruel is made from them by 

 soaking and then boiling. The roots are used as a cure for various diseases, e.g., coughs, 

 colds, syphilis, stomach ache and as an anthelminthic (Tt). 



Ref. 1; 5; 12; 26. 



31 



