416. Sorindeia obtusifoliolata Engl. (Anacard.). 



Sasola (N), mgwego, mpilipili (Y), ntalawanda (N, Y), nyemhedwa (C), musele 

 (Nk). 



A glabrous evergreen tree up to 70 ft. high with alternate pinnate leaves, leaflets 

 usually in four pairs ; flowers, small in long pendulous panicles from the trunk and 

 branches; fruits in drooping clusters, oval, fleshy, half an inch diameter, green, 

 ripening to yellow. Found on Dedza Lake-shore. 



The fruits are edible. 

 Ref. 14; 17; 23. 



417. Sphaerosicyos sphaericus (E. Mey.) Hook. f. var. tomentosa Cogn. 



(Cucurbit). 

 Cipuzi, ishyalele (Y). 



A climber with angled, nearly glabrous stems, leaves 2-6 ins. long, thick and 

 leathery, rough to the touch, 5-lobed to or below the middle, leaf stalk with two 

 conical, horn-like processes at the apex; racemose male flowers, corolla white 3-6 ins. 

 in diameter, calyx tube short, downy ; female flowers solitary ; fruit ovoid green 

 marbled with yellow, smooth and hard. Known to be growing in the Kota Kota 

 District. 



The leaves are cooked occasionally as a side-dish. The fruits are cut open 

 and used as a soap substitute. The fruits are hung in pigeon cotes to encourage the 

 birds to lay. 



418. Sphenostylis erecta (Bak. f.) Hutch, ex Bak. f. (Papil.). 

 Nkhunga (N), mlali (N, flowers), ngunga (Y). 



A bushy herb with trifoliate leaves, leaflets ovate-acuminate to oblong- 

 lanceolate ; flowers yellow, clustered at end of long stalks. Common in the Kota 

 Kota and Dedza Hills. 



The flowers, mlcdi (Dedza) and occasionally the leaves, are cooked as a side- 

 dish often mixed with those of ntupa, {Dolichos buchananii). The beans have been 

 eaten in the past in times of hunger. The long roots, 2-3 ft. long, are twisted and a 

 red liquid exudes in considerable quantity. This is used to mend cracks in pots 

 and to paint on pots to make them waterproof. The fibres from the root are also 

 used for string and for mats. 



419. S. stenocarpa (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Harms (Papil.). Yam Bean. 



Cinkhoma (Tu), nkhoma (C). 



A procumbent and climbing perennial herb with tuberous roots, leaves tri- 

 foliolate, leaflets stipellate, oblong or ovate to linear lanceolate; flowers several 

 together in a congested raceme which elongates in fruit, petals cream or creamy 

 pink; pods straight, compressed, linear with thickened sutures, many seeded. 



The tubers are eaten mostly by children but also by adults (Kasungu and Kota 

 Kota Districts). The tubers are boiled or roasted. They are sometimes cooked 

 mixed with green maize and are said to taste rather like European potatoes. 



Ref. 13; 23. 



*420. Spinacia oleracea L. (Chenopod.), Spinach. 



This is the true spinach, native of S.W. Asia, bearing long-stalked dark green 

 leaves. It seeds freely at 5,000 ft. (Mwera Hill). 



The leaves make a good side-dish with the addition of groundnuts. As long as 

 the plant can be prevented from seeding early by suitable cultivation, it is a good 

 type for native use. 



Ref. 13. 



112 



