Characteristics
A herb or small shrub. The stems are usually erect. The leaves are 20 cm long. There are 11-51 leaflets. They are opposite. They are 3 cm long by 1.4 cm wide. They are sword shaped. There is a point at the tip. There are many flowers along 10 cm long stalks. The corolla is purple, yellow or white. The fruit is a pod 40 mm long by 7 mm wide. It is narrow at both ends. It splits into 2 halves at maturity. The seeds are 2 mm long. They are kidney shaped and dark brown.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
-
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
-
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
rhizobia
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
A tropical plant. It grows in seasonally flooded grassland and woodlands. It is sometimes on termite mounds. In southern Africa it grows between 900-2,250 m altitude and up to 3,900 m altitude in other places.
| Light |
|
| Soil humidity |
|
| Soil texture |
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The leaves are cooked and eaten as a side dish.
| Uses |
forage
|
| Edible
|
leaves
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
| Mode |
-
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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