Cardiospermum microcarpum

Kunth

Balloon vine, Leaved heart pea

SapindaceaeLeavesScore: 33/100

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(c) Teri, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Teri

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(c) Joe MDO, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MDO

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

The leaves are eaten as a green vegetable, and an extract of the whole plant is added to porridge.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,500 m above sea level.

Africa, Argentina, Asia, Botswana, Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, Paraguay, South America, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, West Indies,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, 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, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A climber. It grows 1-3 m tall. It grows each year from seeds. The stem is slender and with a strong furrow. Young parts are hairy. The leaves are alternate and leaflets arranged in 2 groups of three. The leaf stalks are 5-8 cm long. The flowers are small and white. They are on long slender stalks. The fruit is an inflated capsule with 3 chambers.