African locust bean
Parkia bicolor

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 45 m high. The trunk is 90 cm across. It has buttresses. The crown is wide spreading and loses its leaves. The leaves are alternate and twice divided. There are 10-26 pairs of secondary leaflets. The fruit is a pod 15-40 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. They hang in groups at the ends of stalks. There are 20-30 seeds per pod. They are 1-1.5 cm long by 0.5-1 cm wide.

There are about 30 Parkia species. They are tropical. Also as Mimosaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in closed forest and seasonally deciduous forest in West Africa. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sahel, Sierra Leone, West Africa

How it is used for food

The seeds are edible and used for thickening soups. The seeds are used for making alcoholic drinks.

Seeds are sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Seeds, fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown by seeds. It needs a sunny position.

Its other names

Local names

Asoma, Baa, Essang, Eseng, Ezieb, Kohan, Koin, Lo, Ndembe, Netto, Ugboro

Synonyms

Parkia agboensis A. Chev.; Parkia klainei A. Chev.; Parkia zenkeri Harms.;