Vigna trilobata (L.) Verdc.

Perennial or annual trailing herbs. Stems 30-60 cm, gla­brous or glabrescent. Stipules peltate, ovate, 0.6-1.9 cm; petiole 5-10 cm; leaflets rhombic or ovate, 2.5-5 cm, in annual cul­tivated forms often shallowly 3-lobed, in perennial wild forms often deeply 3-lobed, medium lobe broadly spatulate, apex ob­tuse, glabrous or inconspicuously pubescent. Racemes axil­lary, headlike; peduncles longer than leaves; pedicels very short. Calyx campanulate; teeth deltoid, ca. 2 mm. Corolla yellow, ca. 6 mm; standard cordate; wings obovate, auriculate; keel apex contorted. Legumes cylindric, 3-4 cm × 3-4 mm, glabrescent, 6-12-seeded. Seeds deep brown, cylindric, very small, truncate at both ends.

It grows in tropical places. It grows on grassland and sandy ridges. In Papua New Guinea is occurs from sea level to 5 m altitude. In India it grows up to 2,000 m altitude. In Yunnan.

The seeds are eaten cooked. The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The young pods are cooked and eaten. The roots yield a kind of arrowroot starch.

Can be grown by seedlings.