Depth, mass and palatability of geophyte underground storage organs of the Cape Floristic Region

The dataset spans 1,828 individual plant underground storage organs (USOs) sampled from diverse vegetation types across the coastal forelands of the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. The data include USOs from 153 species, 54 genera, and 22 families. The depth of burial and wet mass of each USO were recorded, and USOs were categorised by growth form type and palatability to human foragers (details below). Of the sampled USOs, 363 were bulbs, 955 were corms, 213 were rhizomes, and 297 were tubers, while 1588 were palatable and 240 unpalatable.

本数据集涵盖了从南非开普植物区沿海前陆带不同植被类型中采集的1828个植物地下储藏器官（underground storage organs, USOs）。本次采集的样本来自153个物种、54个属以及22个科。研究记录了每个地下储藏器官的埋藏深度与鲜重，并依据生长型以及人类采食适口性对其进行了分类（详细说明见下文）。在所采集的样本中，共有363个鳞茎、955个球茎、213个根状茎以及297个块茎；其中1588个具备适口性，240个不具备适口性。