Neorautanenia mitis

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A small shrubby herb. It can be erect, climbing or scrambling. The stems can be 2 m long. It has a large tuberous rootstock. It keeps growing from year to year. Annual shoots develop from the large tuber. The leaves are hairy and have lobes. The flowers are bright blue. There are a very large tuber or root stock. The seeds are black.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in grassland and open woodland. It grows in sandy and loamy soils. It can grow in arid places. In Zimbabwe it grows up to 1,600 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Southern Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The pods are poisonous and eaten occasionally as a famine food. The top is cut off the tuber and the contents pounded and the fluid drunk.

It is a famine food.

Edible parts

Tuber - drink, vegetable, fruit, seeds, roots, caution

How it is grown

The tuber can be 13.6 kg.

Its other names

Local names

Bombue, Djidjida, Mombue, Nakangunde, Tinde

Synonyms

Dolichos mitis A. Rich.; Dolichos pseudopachyrizus Harms; Neorautanenia pseudopachyrhiza (Harms) Milne-Redh.; and others