Canavalia africana

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A trailing herb. It grows 3-15 m long. The stems are flattened and have rusty hairs. The leaflets are 6-17 cm long by 4-12 cm wide. They are oval and taper towards the tip. There are soft hairs on both surfaces. The flower clusters are 18-50 cm long. The fruit are pods 10-17 cm long by about 3 cm wide. The pods are densely hairy at first. The seeds are brown. They are 16-20 mm long by 7-11 mm wide.

There are about 50 Canavalia species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in bare ground and near river banks, open savannah, and the edges of forests. It grows between 280-1,800 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahel, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The young fruit pods are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The seeds are used as a famine food and as a coffee substitute.

Edible parts

Seeds, seeds - coffee, pods, fruit, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Cikuvangu, Fanta, Karuthamma, Tagale, Tubalo-sosso

Synonyms

Canavalia ferruginea Piper; Canavalia gladiata Robyns; Canavalia polystachya Schweinf.; Canavalia virosa (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. pro parte; Canavalia virosa Sauer; Dolichos virosa Roxb. pro parte;