Aeschynomene nilotica

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A shrub. It has thick stems. It grows 2 m high. It floats in deep water and roots in the soil in shallow water. Young stems are slightly hairy. The leaves have 24-80 leaflets. The leaflets are 5-25 mm long by 1-5 mm wide. There are very fine teeth along the edge. There are 3-8 flowers in a group in the axils of leaves. The standard is yellow. The fruit is a pod 2-9 cm long. It is narrow and straight. It has 4-9 joints. The seeds are dark reddish-brown. They are 7 mm long by 4 mm wide and 1 mm thick.

There are 150 Aeschynomene species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows on the edge of water and near swamps. In southern Africa it grows between 850-1,050 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, East Africa, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Sahel, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are eaten when fresh.

Edible parts

Leaves, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Namayara, Takudinoka

Synonyms

Aeschynomene uniflorae; Aeschynomene venustiflora;