Argyrolobium marginatum
Bolus
Izi ntondo
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Tuber
The root tubers are eaten raw or cooked, and are especially popular among children.
Where to Find It
A subtropical plant. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Eswatini, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zululand,
How to Identify
A small shrub. It can lie along the ground. It grows 60 cm high. It has a woody rootstock. The leaves are compound with many leaflets. The leaflets are oval and dark green above and lighter green below. They are hairy on both surfaces. There are hairs along the edges. The flowers occur in small groups. The flowers are small and 1 cm long. They are yellow. The pods are narrow and flattened with 2 valves. They are hairy.
Other Information
The root tubers are especially eaten by children.
Notes
There are about 130 Argyrolobium species.
Names & Synonyms
Intondo, Isitondo
References (11)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 201
- HELY-HUTCHINSON
- J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 25:161. 1889
- Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 11
- Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 28th April 2011]
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 55
- Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
- van Wyk, Ben-Erik, 2019, The diversity and multiple uses of southern African legumes. Australian Systematic Botany, 2019, 32, 519–546
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
