Rough chainpea, Red moneywort
Alysicarpus rugosus

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

An erect herb or shrub. It has a woody rootstock. It grows up to 40-60 cm tall. The leaves are sword shaped. They are 2-5 cm long by 0.7-1.5 cm wide. The ends of the leaves are blunt. The flowers are at the end of the branch. It has a pea like flower. There are yellow and mauve colours on the flower. The pod is 1 cm long by 0.3 cm wide. The pod is constricted between the seeds. These sections break off. They have marks across them. The seed is dark brown and oval. It is 1.5-2 mm long by 1.5 mm wide.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in seasonally waterlogged grassland. It flowers and fruits from January to June in Australia. In southern China it grows in moist places in dense forests between 600-1,200 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, East Africa, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Edible parts

Seeds

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Butqua nham, Sheora, Shevra, Zhou suo lian jia dou

Synonyms

Alysicarpus wallichii Wight & Arn.; Hedysarum rugosum Willd.;