Campsiandra implexicaulis
Stergios
Venezuela campsiandra
gbif· cc-by-nc
Division of Botany FMNH
Description
A tropical tree in the legume family (Fabaceae) native to Venezuela.
This description is brief — help expand it
Edible Uses
Seed - cooked. The dried seed is ground into a flour, known as 'chigo flour' and used to make a range of foods. The mature seeds are taken out of their seedpods and then buried for some time in damp soil. After a certain degree of fermentation has set in, they are dug up, washed and then pounded into a flour. The flour (which is rich in starch) is used for making bread and other foods. The flattened to compressed seedpod can be 19 - 27cm long and 5 - 6cm wide. The dark red-brown, elliptic to kidney-shaped seeds are around 4cm x 5cm.
Traditional Uses
The seeds are used to make flour.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It is a tropical plant.
Where It Grows
Brazil, Colombia, Peru, South America, Venezuela,
Cultivation
The seed has a circular, spongy wing encircling it that enables it to float on the surface of the water.
Also Known As
Cuneviche
References (3)
- Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J., 2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 97
- Kew Plants of the World On line
- Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
