various species of "huernia" are considered famine food by the inhabitants of konso special woreda in southern ethiopia. the local inhabitants, who call the native species of this genus "baqibaqa" indiscriminately, eat it with prepared balls of sorghum (kurkufa); they note that "baqibaqa" tastes relatively good and has no unpleasant side-effects when boiled and consumed. as a result, local farmers encouraged it to grow on stone walls forming the terraces, where it does not compete with other crops.