elephant's-foot

elephant's-foot
/el"euh feuhnts foot'/, n., pl. elephant's-foots.
a climbing vine, Dioscorea elephantipes, of southern Africa, having a massive, edible, yamlike tuber. Also called Hottentot's bread, tortoise plant.
[1810-20]

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▪ plant
also called  hottentot bread (Dioscorea elephantipes) 

      an odd-looking twining plant of the yam family (Dioscoreaceae), characterized by a large, woody, and partially exposed tuber. It is native to semiarid areas in southern Africa. The tubercle-covered tuber, resembling an elephant's foot or a tortoise shell, once served as a food for local peoples during famine (hence the name “Hottentot bread”). The tuber can reach up to 1 m (3 feet) in diameter, and specimens weighing several hundred pounds have been reported. From such a root stock each year emerge thin climbing stems with small leaves. The plant is grown in desert gardens and conservatories as a curiosity.

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  • Elephant's foot — can mean any of several plants:* Adenia pechuelii , genus Adenia * Beaucarnea recurvata * Dioscorea elephantipes * Elephantopus species, family Asteraceae …   Wikipedia

  • elephant's-foot — noun 1. South African vine having a massive rootstock covered with deeply fissured bark • Syn: ↑tortoise plant, ↑Hottentot bread vine, ↑Hottentot s bread vine, ↑Dioscorea elephantipes • Hypernyms: ↑vine • Mem …   Useful english dictionary

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  • Elephant — El e*phant ([e^]l [ e]*fant), n. [OE. elefaunt, olifant, OF. olifant, F. [ e]l[ e]phant, L. elephantus, elephas, antis, fr. Gr. ele fas, ele fantos; of unknown origin; perh. fr. Skr. ibha, with the Semitic article al, el, prefixed, or fr. Semitic …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Elephant bed — Elephant El e*phant ([e^]l [ e]*fant), n. [OE. elefaunt, olifant, OF. olifant, F. [ e]l[ e]phant, L. elephantus, elephas, antis, fr. Gr. ele fas, ele fantos; of unknown origin; perh. fr. Skr. ibha, with the Semitic article al, el, prefixed, or fr …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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