Eriosema rhynchosioides

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A herb that lies along the ground and keeps growing from year to year. There is a rootstock of several narrow tubers. These produce several stems that have a few branches. The tubers are 7 cm long by 1.2 cm wide. The stems are 70 cm long. They are hairy and have long internodes. The leaves have 3 leaflets and are 1-6 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are narrowly oval and are rounded at the base. The veins are raised underneath and are hairy. There can be 1-20 flowers in a short cluster. The standard is yellow and tinged with red inside. The fruit is a por 10-16 mm long by 7-9 mm wide. The seeds are pale brown with dark marks. The seeds are about 5 mm long by 2 mm wide.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows on seasonally set grassland on Kalahari sand. It grows between 780-1,500 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, East Africa, Malawi, Southern Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Tubers, root

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Gwera, Gweradembo

Synonyms

Eriosema terniflorum Hiern ex Baker f.; Eriosema welwitschii Hiern. ex Baker f.;