Eriosema rhynchosioides
Baker
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
MBG
MBG
Where to Find It
Tubers, Root,
How to Identify
A perennial ground-lying herb of the legume family with a rootstock of narrow tubers. It produces several hairy stems up to 70 cm long with trifoliate leaves and clusters of yellow flowers tinged with red inside, followed by small pods containing pale brown seeds.
Other Information
Fabaceae
Notes
A herb that lies along the ground and keeps growing from year to year. There is a rootstock of several narrow tubers. These produce several stems that have a few branches. The tubers are 7 cm long by 1.2 cm wide. The stems are 70 cm long. They are hairy and have long internodes. The leaves have 3 leaflets and are 1-6 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. They are narrowly oval and are rounded at the base. The veins are raised underneath and are hairy. There can be 1-20 flowers in a short cluster. The standard is yellow and tinged with red inside. The fruit is a por 10-16 mm long by 7-9 mm wide. The seeds are pale brown with dark marks. The seeds are about 5 mm long by 2 mm wide.
Names & Synonyms
Gwera, Gweradembo
References (5)
- Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 81
- J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 15:94. 1876
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 134
- Tredgold, M. H., 1986, Food Plants of Zimbabwe. Mambo Press. p 66
- Wild, 1975,
