---
title: "Bringing home the spekboom — Wonder plant should be a staple veggie, say researchers"
description: "Researchers at the University of the Free State argue spekboom should become a staple South African vegetable. The indigenous plant offers climate resilience, nutritional benefits and potential new opportunities for small-scale farmers."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "STORE HOUSE"
author: "Iman Allie"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/iman-allie/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-25-bringing-home-the-spekboom-wonder-plant-should-be-a-staple-veggie-say-researchers/"
published: "2026-09-25T13:35:34"
updated: "2026-09-25T16:09:30"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 1136
---

# Bringing home the spekboom — Wonder plant should be a staple veggie, say researchers

> Researchers at the University of the Free State argue spekboom should become a staple South African vegetable. The indigenous plant offers climate resilience, nutritional benefits and potential new opportunities for small-scale farmers.

By Iman Allie · Published 25 September 2026, 15:35 SAST · Updated 25 September 2026, 18:09 SAST

## Key points
- UFS researchers want spekboom – the drought-hardy, carbon-storing and indigenous plant – recognised as a staple South African vegetable.
- The tart, nutrient-rich plant can add vitamin C, fibre and minerals to dishes ranging from chakalaka and atchar to soups, salads and smoothies.
- Nearly 80% of surveyed respondents said they would eat spekboom, while its cultivation could open markets for small farmers, traders and food processors.
- But researchers warn that formalising the industry could attract big commercial players and squeeze out the communities meant to benefit.

## Content

Researchers at the University of the Free State (UFS) are advocating for [spekboom](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-23-the-spekboom-miracle-plant-or-just-another-succulent/) to become a staple vegetable in South Africa and argue eating indigenous plants could improve SA’s food system.

In an interview with Daily Maverick, researchers Alba du Toit and Maryna Boshoff described spekboom as “multi-purpose”. Du Toit is the chair of Innovative Agro-processing for Climate Smart Food Systems in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at UFS and Boshoff is a professor in Sustainable Food Systems in the Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty.

“\[Spekboom\] has a lot of potential value in climate-change mitigation and ecological restoration,” Du Toit said.

The indigenous plant is able to grow in drought conditions and relatively poor soils without irrigation or fertilisation, Du Toit said. Spekboom protects the soil in which it grows and can stabilise soil that is undergoing erosion, she added.

One of the plant’s most significant traits is that it[captures and stores carbon](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-12-04-sas-awardwinning-thicket-project-on-tracn-track-to-create-100000-jobs-and-revive/). Du Toit explained that as the plant grows it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then stores it in the plant. Spekboom is easy to cultivate and easily accessible as an indigenous plant that grows all over SA including in many South Africans’ gardens.

But apart from its ecological advantages spekboom is also edible and should be recognised as a food source, Du Toit said.

![Chef Michelle Theron’s tasting platter to be unveiled at Geuwels restaurant on October 24, with paired estate wines. (Photo: Tony Jackman)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/8S7ezE-9JxAoOKurG0wPlHe9EW0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/vergplate.jpg)

*A fine-dining dish from Geuwels restaurant in Stellenbosch features spekboom and other edible indigenous plants. UFS research shows that most people would consider eating spekboom. (Photo: Tony Jackman)*

### A vegetable-like plant

According to [research](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44187-026-00881-5) by Du Toit and Boshoff, spekboom is rich in moisture, provides soluble fibre, is high in vitamin C and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and selenium. It was found that spekboom remains high in vitamin C after being cooked, which is significant because vitamin C is usually destroyed by heat, Du Toit said.

Although spekboom cannot replace nutrient-dense foods, it can complement such foods and add more variety to South African diets, Du Toit explained. Spekboom can be added to foods, such as salads, sandwiches, wraps and smoothies without substantially increasing the food’s energy content, she added.

It also has the potential to be a staple vegetable, Du Toit said. According to Boshoff, it has similar nutritional value to that of dark green vegetables, such as spinach (but with less iron content) and can thus be incorporated into diets like vegetables are.

According to Boshoff, spekboom has a sour and tart flavour to it. And it can be incorporated into South African cuisine, such as chakalaka, atchar, chutney, relish, curries, soups and stews, Du Toit said. It can also be ground and used similar to herbs and spices, she said.

[FOR CONTEXT

From soil to survival — the homegrown solutions saving South Africans from hunger

April 30, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/FYc7WzsxghyuPo_9DsRpSMfz8mU=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/scott-warman-NpNvI4ilT4A-unsplash.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-30-from-soil-to-survival-the-homegrown-solutions-saving-south-africans-from-hunger/)

Du Toit explained that their research shows that consumers are willing to eat spekboom.

As part of Du Toit and Boshoff’s research, a survey was conducted in the Sensory Laboratory at the university’s Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development to assess the attitudes regarding the consumption of raw and cooked spekboom leaves. A total of 120 respondents including students and staff members within the institution completed the questionnaire.

Almost 80% of the respondents indicated that they would be willing to include spekboom in their diets and 82.5% said they would be more likely to eat spekboom if they knew more about its health benefits. Meanwhile 75% of respondents indicated that they would buy spekboom if it were available in supermarkets and about 77.5% indicated that they would consider buying it if it were more affordable than other vegetables.

![Spekboom items cooked to test the best ways of incorporating it into everyday meals](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/nvoMMmFX6-9xz142DnVCwRv_o3k=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Iman-spekboom3_262578.jpeg)

*(From left) Spekboom curd, spekboom tomato chutney, spekboom pickle and spekboom dukkah developed by Rozanne MacDonald, a former student of UFS’ Professor Alba du Toit’s. (Photo: Supplied / Rozanne MacDonald)*

### Cultivating resilience and job opportunities

Spekboom’s resilience is especially notable as South Africa anticipates a potential drier and hotter summer, Boshoff explained.

Indigenous and locally adapted food crops such as spekboom are attractive to cultivate, because many of their seeds and planting material possess very important traits, such as drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance and low dependence on external inputs, which would enable farmers to confront threats posed by events such as El Niño, said Mariam Mayet, executive director of the African Centre for Biodiversity.

While spekboom is climate-resilient, nutritious and can diversify diets, it also has the potential to improve SA’s food system by expanding business and employment opportunities in the sector.

Boshoff said she believes the entire value chain could benefit from spekboom and that it could also improve livelihoods. Spekboom could create a market for small-scale farmers, informal traders and community-based food processors, Du Toit explained. These groups could sell fresh spekboom to entrepreneurs, who could develop new spekboom products, such as spice blends or beverages, she added.

Eventually as more consumers become aware of spekboom as a food and start buying it, bigger industries might begin incorporating it into their products, potentially making spekboom more accessible, Du Toit said.

### Tension between formalisation and small-scale producers

![Lerato-SAThicketRestoration-UNEP](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/7c4FOhj9KQsinz3IiKC4CLYRdgY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/20250610_UNEPDecadeonEcosystemRestoration_SouthAfricanThicket_ToddBrown_13_466578.jpg)

*Community restoration teams prepare the soil to plant spekboom seedlings as part of a new Unep World Restoration Flagship programme in South Africa. (Photo: Todd Brown / Unep)*

“Commercial success can also change who controls a resource and who captures the value it generates,” Mayet said.

The spekboom research highlights an important tension, she said. Greater public awareness could create a market quite quickly and it could be very positive if it supported community producers, local processing and diversified livelihoods as opposed to formalising spekboom cultivation, she said.

According to Mayet, if spekboom cultivation were to become formalised under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, for example, after gaining popularity; power relationships and the identity of the actors in the field would immediately shift, because it would immediately attract larger commercial actors and shift control over production, processing and markets.

In 2025 the former minister of agriculture, John Steenhuisen, approved the inclusion of certain indigenous crops and medicinal plants as agricultural products under the [Marketing of Agricultural Products Act](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/steenhuisen-unlocks-r12bln-indigenous-economy-boost). Although the legislation is designed to unlock growth potential for small-scale farmers and traditional healers, the registration requirements, levies, standards and market arrangement linked to the Act could create significant [barriers](https://acbio.org.za/corporate-expansion/indigenous-crops-and-medicinal-plants-are-being-formalised/) for small-scale producers, community producers and informal sellers, Mayet said.

As an example, costs that are relatively minor for a large company can become prohibitive for a small producer, which highlights the risk that plans promoting accessibility and resilience can become incorporated into a value chain that concentrates power rather than democratises economic opportunity, she said.

“A just approach to spekboom cultivation should use growing interest in spekboom to strengthen local food systems, community and small-scale production, local value addition, biodiversity conservation and fair benefit sharing,” Mayet said. **DM**