Parochetus communis

Buch.-Ham. ex. D. Don

Blue trefoil, Shamrock pea, Clover pea

FabaceaeLeavesRootsFlowers

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

iNaturalist · cc-by-sa
(c) Dinesh Valke, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

iNaturalist · cc-by
(c) Dr. Alexey Yakovlev, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Dr. Alexey Yakovlev

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Roots, Flowers

The roots are boiled and eaten, while the flowers are used as a potherb in stir fries. The leaves are also edible.

Where to Find It

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows naturally in mountains in Africa and Asia. It does best in moist, humus-rich soil. It can grow in sun or part shade. It can only tolerate light frost. In southern China it grows on the edges of woodlands and in grassland between 1,800-3,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Asia, Africa, Australia, Bhutan, China*, East Africa, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, SE Asia, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Tasmania, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, China, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, 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, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A creeping herb. It forms a ground cover. It grows 10 cm high and spreads 30 cm wide. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaflets are closely flattened. They are clover-like and divided into 3 leaflets. The leaves are 12 mm long. They are hairy underneath. The flowers are deep blue and like pea flowers. They are 12-25 mm wide. They occur singly or in pairs. The pods are 2.5 cm long.

How to Grow

It can be grown by seed or by division of the plant.

Medicinal Uses

Traditionally, the roots are boiled for consumption.

Production

It can spread quickly.

Notes

There is only one Parochetus species.

Names & Synonyms

A wo la qian, Bhattaula, Chemgi phul, Dhruma, Jangali badame jhar, Se-ngon, Sondau

References (10)

Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 751
Ghimire, S. K., et al, 2008, Non-Timber Forest Products of Nepal Himalaya. WWF Nepal p 94
Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 45
Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 219 (As Parachetusil communis)
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 93
Luo, B., et al, 2019, Wild edible plants collected by Hani from terraced rice paddy agroecosystem in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 15:56
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 200
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 136 (As Parochetus africanus)
Pham-Hoang Ho, 1999, An Illustrated Flora of Vietnam. Nha Xuat Ban Tre. p 979
Prodr. fl. nepal 240. 1825