Buffalo bean
Mucuna poggei
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
A bean. It is a woody creeper with stem up to 30 m long. The stems can be 20 cm across. The sap stains things dark brown. The leaves are alternate and have leaflets along the stalk. The leaflets can be 10-19 cm long by 6-19 cm wide. The side leaflets are unequal. The flowers hang in a group in the axils of leaves. The flowers have orange-red hairs. The fruit is an oblong pod 5-20 cm long by 4 cm wide. It is covered with red bristles that irritate the skin. The pod contains 1-5 seeds. The seeds are curved and 2.5 cm long by 2 cm wide and flattened. They are purple with brown marks.
It is used as a dye plant.
Where it is found
It is a tropical plant. It grows near rivers and swamps from sea level to 2,000 m altitude.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
How it is used for food
Edible parts
Seeds
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Ghanhima, Mafurae, Ngerehe, Talicoedje
Synonyms
Mucuna rubro-aurantiaca De Wild; Mucuna pesa De Wild.;