Abrus pulchellus

Wall. ex Thwaites

Malay licorice

FabaceaeRootsSeeds/NutsShootsScore: 4/100Potential hazards — see below

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(c) Marco Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Roots, Seeds, Stem, Caution

The roots are used as a liquorice substitute, and the stems are used as a sweetener.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in secondary vegetation in West Africa. It prefers damp locations. It is often along rivers. In southern China it grows between 200-3,000 m above sea level.

Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Himalayas, Laos, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand, Vietnam, West Africa,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

Nutrition Score: 4/100

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Root flour	13.5	—	—	0	—	—	1.2	—
Roots	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Medicinal Uses

The roots are traditionally used as a substitute for liquorice.

Notes

There are 26 Abrus species.

Names & Synonyms

Benambo, Bunambo, Bu segseg

Abrus fruticulosus auct. non Wight & Arn. MisappliedAbrus melanospermus Hassk.and others

References (8)

Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 3
Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 3. Kew.
Codjia, J. T. C., et al, 2003, Diversity and local valorisation of vegetal edible products in Benin. Cahiers Agricultures 12:1-12
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 101
Flora of China @efloras.org Volume 10
Gallagher, D. E., 2010, Farming beyond the escarpment: Society, Environment, and Mobility in Precolonial Southeastern Burkina Faso. PhD University of Michigan
G. H. K. Thwaites & J. D. Hooker, Enum. pl. zeyl. 91. 1859
Usher, G., 1974, A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable. p 10