174. Dioscorea sp. 



Nandelele. 



A climber resembling mpama wam'thengo (No. 173) in appearance but with 

 shiny stems and even more reduced leaves. A man is reputed to have died near 

 Mua Mission (Dedza Lake-shore), because he ate this in mistake for the wild yam. 



175. Dioscorea sp. 



Dzinyanya (N). 



A climber with slender stems found at 2,000 ft. 



The roots are eaten either raw or cooked with potashes, they do not serve 

 as a side-dish (Dedza Lake-shore). 



176. Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC. (Ebenac). Monkey guava 

 Msumwa (N, Y), mcenya, nyelenje (Tu). Swamp ebon3^ 



A tree up to 50 ft. tall with evergreen elliptical, alternate, leathery leaves and 

 small, fragrant, Avhite, axillary flowers, fruits subglobose up to 1 in. in diameter 

 with hairy seeds. Found in the drier parts of the low foothills. 



The wood is white to grey-pink slowly darkening to dark-brown, hard compact, 

 fine and even in grain, very strong, fairly resistant to fungi and said to be almost 

 termite-proof. It planes easily and turns well but will not take nails. In W.A. 

 it is used for making rulers. Weight 50-65 lb. per cu. ft. air-dry. Fruit pulp soft 

 and very sweet and is made into a fermented drink (Sud.). Many medicuial uses 

 (Sud.). 



Ref. 14; 17; 22; 26. ♦ 



177. Diplorhynchus mossambicensis Benth. (Apocyn.). 



Tombozi (G), mtomoni (Y), mulimbo (He), mnyanyata (He), muntalembe (Nk). 



Small tree up to 20 ft. with graceful drooping foliage, bark thick and corrugated, 

 yields milky sap, leaves deciduous, opposite, simple, ovate, yellowish green, flowers 

 in terminal panicles, sweet scented, white and starlike, fruit characteristic not unlike 

 a pod, but really a capsule later becoming woody, with two red- winged seeds. Found 

 on soils of lighter texture in drier parts of the foothills. 



The heart wood is durable. The latex is smeared over cuts in the body and is 

 used for fixing arrow-heads in their sockets (S.R.) and for bird lime. 



Ref. 9; 14; 26. 



178. Diplorhynchus sp. cfr. D. angolense Buttn. 



Thombozi nsanga (C). 



A tree. 



An infusion of the roots is drunk for various venereal diseases, e.g., kaswente, 

 cinzonono, njovera, cinyera, 



179. Disasp. (Orchid.). 



Cinaka, cikande (N). See also Habenaria walleri and Satyrium sp. 



The tubers of four or five kinds of ground orchids, of which this is one, are 

 used for side-dishes; they are found mainly in the hill areas of the country, e.g., 

 Kota Kota and Ncheu Districts. The tubers are variously shaped, some growing 

 like fingers from a central point while others are unbranched, some are red in colour 

 and others are white. 



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