Characteristics
An annual herb. It grows 50 cm high. It has fine hairs. The leaves on the main stem have stalks 2 cm long. The leaves are sword shaped and 10 cm long by 2 cm wide. The flowering shoots are at the ends of branches and in the axils of leaves. These have clusters of flowers. The fruit are about 5 mm long and downy.
| Life form |
annual
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
0.4 - 0.85
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It grows in the lowveld in Swaziland. It grows in a variety of locations especially disturbed ground. It is best on well-drained sandy soil. It grows from 15 to 1,500 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The leaves are cooked in vegetable dishes. The tubers and rhizomes are also cooked and eaten. They are roasted in the ashes under the fire.
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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