Sutherlandia frutescens

(L.) R. Br.

Cancer bush

FabaceaeLeavesSeeds/NutsSpice/Beverage

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(c) Deon du Plessis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) sgplantsanimalsinsects, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves - drink, Seeds

The leaves are used to make a health drink, and the unripe seeds are eaten as a snack.

Where to Find It

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in drier places.

Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A shrub of the Fabaceae family growing about 1 m tall with red-orange flowers. It is found in subtropical, drier regions and is noted for anti-cancer properties.

How to Grow

Seeds germinate easily.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used for a health drink, traditionally valued for anti-cancer properties.

Notes

It has anti-cancer properties.

Names & Synonyms

Balloon pea, Kankerbossie, Keurtjie, Phetola, Sutherlandia

Colutea frutescens L.Lessertia frutescens (L.) Goldblatt & J. C. Manning

References (2)

De Vynk, J. C., et al, 2016, Indigenous edible plant use by contemporary Khoe-San descendants of South Africa's Cape South Coast. South African Journal of Botany. 102 (2016) 60-69
van Wyk, B-E., 2011, The potential of South African plants in the development of new food and beverage products. South African Journal of Botany 77 (2011) 857–868