Coccinia palmata

You can grow this rare South African vine for its starry, creamy apricot flowers, or for its palmate green leaves, but my recommendation is that you grow it for its fabulous roots. Why? Because this wacky cucumber relative develops large tuberous roots & there’s nothing quite like a well-grown caudex plant! Plant in a terracotta pot & plant the tuber slightly above the soil line so you can see the tuber grow. Provide support for the climbing tendrils as well. Alternately, you can plant it in the ground & let it climb all over the place. It’s said the red fruits the plant develops are edible, but we haven’t tried them or seen them yet. In order to produce fruit you will need two plants, one male & one female, as Coccinias are dioecious. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know who’s who before the plants flower.

Claire Woods
Propagator