Keith,

Though you may find some differences and some unique chemicals produced only
by certain plants or groups of plants, there is little that is chemically
unique among groups of plants from different continents. Firs produce
pinene, so does rosemary, eucalyptus, citrus, pittosporum, etc. Vanilla (an
orchid) produces vanillin, but so do pines, acacias, etc. Citrus produce
limonene, but so does lemongrass, junipers, hops, carrots, etc. Many of
these plants are from completely different continents and are unrelated.
Similarly, many completely unrelated plants and groups of plants produce the
same starches, sugars, fats and proteins.
I don't claim to know scientifically that this would be related to human
adaptation to certain plants or groups of plants, but it seems to me, in the
past 5 years I've been developing my ethnobotanical encyclopedia, that
palatability or genetic adaptation has more to do with the chemical and
nutritional constituents of a given species than where it came from or our
history with it (though history certainly does help one to know if something
is edible or not).
But I thought I'd do a little digging on African savannah species that may
or may not have been there around that time...
Here's a list. Contact me privately for more extensive information, if
desired.

Albuca amboensis (S. Africa)
Alhagi mannifera (N. Africa)
Allium neapolitanum (Africa)
Aponogeton distachyos (S. Africa)
Asphodeline lutea (N. Africa)
Asphodelus aestivus (N. Africa)
Bongardia chrysogonum (N. Africa)
Cyperus papyrus (N. Africa)
Hibiscus cannabinus (Possibly from Africa, not confirmed)
Hibiscus sabdariffa (Possibly edible root, not confirmed, from Africa)
Moraea fugax (S. Africa)
Sorghum halapense (N. Africa, root may only be marginally edible)

This is all I could find for now, doing a search for tubers and roots only,
though most of them have other uses as well. If you're interested in
seeds/nuts too, let me know.

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