Hausa groundnut, Ground bean
Macrotyloma geocarpum

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A herb. It is an annual plant. The stems lie along the ground and form roots. The stems are 10 cm long. The leaves are alternate and have 3 leaflets. The leaf stalk is erect and 25 cm long. The leaflets are 3-8 cm long by 2-2.5 cm wide. The flowers can be single or in pairs in the axils of leaves. The flowers are greenish white. The fruit are pods 0.5-2.5 cm long by 0.5-1 cm wide. These are forced into the ground as they develop. The pods contain 1 to 3 kidney shaped beans. The seeds are 5-10 mm long by 4-7 mm wide. They can be black, brown or light brown.

The seeds are high in protein. There are about 24 Macrotyloma species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in the drier regions of West Africa. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Pacific, Sahel, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, West Africa

How it is used for food

The seeds are cooked and eaten. They are boiled with salt and eaten with palm oil. They are also boiled in soup. Dried seeds are ground into flour and made into cakes and other dishes. The leaves are also cooked and eaten.

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Edible parts

Seeds, leaves

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seeds. Plants are often intercropped.

Pods are harvested and then dried in the sun. The seeds are then thrashed from the pods. Yields of dry seeds can be 500 kg per hectare.

Its other names

Local names

Akidi ani, Binde, Bindi, Doi, Dougoufalo, Doyiwe, Kandela, Nadu, Kersting's groundnut, Nadou

Synonyms

Kerstingiella geocarpa Harms; Voandzeia geocarpa (Harms) A. Chev.; Voandzeia poissonii;