''Dioscoreophyllum volkensii'', the serendipity berry, is a
tropical dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
vine in the family
Menispermaceae. It is native throughout most of tropical
Africa from
Sierra Leone east to
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
, and south to
Angola and
Mozambique. It grows at low altitudes, from sea level up to 400 m. Some authors separate plants from above 200 m as a separate species ''D. cumminsii'' (Stapf) Diels.
[African Plants Database]
''Dioscoreophyllum volkensii''
There are two
varieties:
[
*''Dioscoreophyllum volkensii'' var. ''volkensii''. Endemic to the island of Bioko in ]Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
.
*''Dioscoreophyllum volkensii'' var. ''fernandense'' (Hutch. & Dalziel) Troupin. Mainland Africa.
Uses
The fruit contains monellin, an intensely sweet protein with potential use as a sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
replacement. For humans, monellin is 100,000 times sweeter than sucrose on a molar basis and around 3,000 times on a weight basis.
[
]
References
Menispermaceae
Flora of Africa
Dioecious plants
{{Ranunculales-stub