Dolichos flower, Wild Lupin, Bully-beef plant
Dolichos buchananii

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

An erect perennial herb. It puts up stems each year from a woody rootstock. These are 0.25-1.2 m tall. The flowers normally develop when the leaves are absent. The roots are large and tuberous and have red and white streaks. The leaves are compound leaves. Normally there are 3-4 leaflets. They are 2-18 cm long and 1-8 cm wide. They can vary in shape. The tips can be pointed or blunt and the base can be rounded or heart shaped. The flowers are purple. Between 1 and 4 flowers occur in clusters in the axils of leaves. The fruit is a pod. It is 4-9 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. The seeds are orange and almost square. They are 6-9 mm long by 4.7 mm wide.

Probably now a synonym of Dolichos kilmandscharicus.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in open woodland or grassland. In Ethiopia it grows between 1000 and 1700 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Central Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The flowers are often cooked with other leaves.

Edible parts

Flowers

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Dolichos kilimandscharius Harms ex Taub. var. kilimandscharius;