Capparis retusa
Griseb.
Sacha bean
gbif · cc-by
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
gbif · cc-by-nc-sa
MBG
MBG
gbif · cc-by-nc-sa
MBG
MBG
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds
The very bitter fruit and seeds are prepared by boiling (changing the water and boiling again), sometimes after being baked and dried, and are typically eaten with fish.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant.
Argentina, Paraguay, South America,
How to Identify
A shrub. The leaves are broadly oval. The pods are enlarged around the seeds. The pods can be red inside with pale green seeds.
Medicinal Uses
Used as a traditional food preparation in South American cuisine.
Other Information
The fruit are commonly eaten in Paraguay.
Names & Synonyms
Antawa, Indio kumanda, Ohnayik
Capparis cynophallophora var. retusa (Griseb.) Kuntze
References (3)
- Arenas, P. and Scarpa, G. F., 2006, Edible wild plants of the Chorote Indians, Gran Chaco, Argentina. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Vol. 153 (1): pp 73-85
- Polini, G., et al, Useful and edible plants of Paraguay Region of Chaco. p 54
- Scarpa, G. F., 2009, Wild food plants used by the indigenous peoples of South American Gran Chaco: A general synopsis and intercultural comparison. Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality 83:90-101
