Dioscorea elephantipes aka Hottentot Bread

Dioscorea elephantipes is a deciduous vine in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. Gardeners call it elephant’s foot or tortoise plant. It comes from South Africa’s Cape region. There it grows among weathered rocks and on dry, stony slopes. Shrubs shelter plants in some sites. Its swollen base stores water through the dry season. In its native range, growth follows the cooler, wetter months.

The RHS gives a garden height and spread of 1.6–3.3 feet [0.5–1 m]. Plants take about five to ten years to reach maturity. LLIFLE reports longer stems, reaching 6.6–19.7 feet [2–6 m]. The exposed base, called a caudex, often spans 2–3 feet [0.6–0.9 m]. Rare specimens exceed 9.8 feet [3 m] across. Its firm outer surface hides succulent tissue within. With age, grey-brown bark splits into thick, corky plates. These give the base its tortoise-shell look. Slender, branched stems twine from the top. Glossy, heart-shaped leaves range from green to blue-green. Plants shed their leaves as they enter summer rest.

Small greenish-yellow flowers appear in clusters. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants. Male plants bear upright racemes; female plants bear spreading or drooping spikes. Bees and bumblebees pollinate the flowers. In the wild, flowering falls in May and June. Seeds follow in September and October. The fruit forms a capsule less than 0.08 feet [0.025 m] long. Each seed has a thin wing.

Grow this plant under glass in full light. Use gritty compost that lets water drain away freely. Loam or sand suits it, across acid, neutral and alkaline conditions. Water moderately during active growth. The RHS advises liquid feed every two to three weeks. Its winter-dry advice differs from LLIFLE’s account of native winter growth. The RHS rates it H1C, with summer outdoor conditions of 5–10°C. LLIFLE reports brief cold tolerance to −4°C in its habitat. This does not make it a reliably frost-hardy garden plant.

The sculptured base suits containers, patios and sheltered displays. The RHS also lists desert gardens as a use. Sow seed in spring at 19–24°C. Softwood cuttings offer another method when young shoots emerge. Aphids and froghoppers may attack it, though diseases are uncommon. Do not treat the tuber as food. The RHS warns that eating the plant poisons people and dogs. Contact can also irritate skin, so wear gloves when handling it.