Flemingia tuberosa
Dalzell
Birmova
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Shiwalee Samant, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Shiwalee Samant
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Aparna Watve, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Aparna Watve, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
It has trailing stems 90-120 cm long. It forms root tubers. They are oblong and taper at one end. They are 5-6 cm long. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaflets are 1-8-3.5 cm long by 0.4-0.4 cm wide.
Edible Uses
Root - raw or cooked. Sweet but somewhat astringent. Cooking the tuber removes the astringency. Fresh tubers contain 40.12% starch, 25.47% sugar and gum, 13.04% albuminoids, 12.16% cellulose, 4.13% asparagin, 3.44% ash, 1.16% yellow resin.
Traditional Uses
The root tubers are eaten raw or roasted.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
The sweet, astringent tubers are useful in the treatment of diarrhoea,dysentery and vagianal discharges (leucorrhoea)
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Western Ghats. It suits seasonally dry areas.
Where It Grows
Asia, India,
Cultivation
Species in this genus generally succeed in sunny and partially shady positions so long as the soil is well-drained.
Propagation
Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Cuttings.
Other Information
The root is sold in local markets.
Synonyms
References (5)
- Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 377
- Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 311 (As Flemingia tuberosa)
- Kew Plants of the World Online
- Singh, H.B., Arora R.K.,1978, Wild edible Plants of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. p13
