Elephant's foot

Description

Dioscorea elephantipes (elephant's foot or Hottentot bread; syn. Testudinaria elephantipes), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae, native to the dry interior of South Africa. It is a deciduous climber. It takes the name "elephant's foot" from the appearance of its large, partially buried, tuberous stem, which grows very slowly but often reaches a considerable size, often more than 3 m (10 ft) in circumference with a height of nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) above ground. It is rich in starch, whence the name Hottentot bread, and is covered on the outside with thick, hard, corky plates. It requires significant processing before being eaten to remove toxic compounds.