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Cleome allamanii

Chiov.

Cleomaceae Edible: Leaves, Vegetable 4 iNaturalist observations

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Susan Brown

gbif· cc-by-sa

Susan Brown

gbif· cc-by-sa

Susan Brown

Description

A herb or climber. It can grow 1 m tall. The stems are covered with hairs. The leaves have 5-7 narrow leaflets. They are 1-3 cm long by 1-2 mm wide. The fruit are capsules 7-9 cm long.

Edible Uses

Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The young shoots are collected, wilted, chopped and cooked alone or with other vegetables such as peas or amaranth and then served with a staple.

Traditional Uses

The young leaves are collected, wilted chopped and then cooked.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It grows in sandy and rocky places around Lake Turkana. In East Africa it grows between 360-1,050 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Synonyms

Cleome grata Graham

Also Known As

Erreso

References (5)

  • Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants.
  • Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 196
  • Lulekal, E., et al, 2011, Wild edible plants in Ethiopia: a review on their potential to combat food insecurity. Afrika Focus - Vol. 24, No 2. pp 71-121
  • Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
  • World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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