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Glite Dictionary
Encephalartos caffer

Encephalartos caffer

9.9
A palm-like South African plant whose starchy inner part people sometimes eat
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Encephalartos caffer
  • The ancient San people once utilized the starchy pith of Encephalartos caffer as a famine food.

Examples

  • The distinctive, palm-like appearance of Encephalartos caffer makes it popular among rare plant collectors.

  • The Encephalartos caffer is often found in the wild in South Africa.

  • Botanists are working to conserve Encephalartos caffer due to its endangered status.

  • Did you know that Encephalartos caffer can be used as food?

  • The ancient San people once utilized the starchy pith of Encephalartos caffer as a famine food.

  • Botanists are working to conserve Encephalartos caffer due to its endangered status.

  • Did you know that Encephalartos caffer can be used as food?

Synonyms

kaffir bread
vsEncephalartos caffer
  • Archaic
9.9

A South African plant whose thick starchy centre people eat

is the exact species rather than the broader species group

Surface Forms

Encephalartos caffer singular

Morphology

Encephalartos + caffer

The genus part 'Encephalartos' transparently signals a cycad, so a learner who knows that could infer this is a type of cycad. However the epithet 'caffer' is a non-dictionary Latin/epithet form and species names are essentially proper nouns, so the precise sense (native to South Africa and edible pith) is not predictable from the parts without specialist or etymological knowledge.

Etymology

Encephalartos caffer is a palm-like, very old plant from South Africa whose starchy centre inside the fruit was sometimes eaten as 'famine food' by local people. So the name points to a rare, edible plant known for its starchy pith.