A legume (Vigna subterranea) native to West Africa that, like the peanut, buries its developing pods underground after flowering, though the two crops are not closely related botanically. It is grown widely across sub-Saharan Africa as a subsistence food crop valued for tolerating poor, sandy soils and erratic rainfall better than most other pulses, making it an important reserve crop in drought-prone regions. The whole seed is eaten boiled, roasted or ground into flour, and the crop has drawn renewed research interest as a climate-resilient, nutritionally complete staple for smallholder farmers.
Facts
Sources
1. Vigna subterranea (Wikipedia)
- lead: member of the family Fabaceae, an important leguminous crop
- lead: eaten fresh or boiled after drying, ground to make puddings
View the SourceWikipedia: Bambara Groundnut
Wikipedialead description or Wikipedia lead (crop-class)Quote, lead description or Wikipedia lead (crop-class)
Bambara groundnut represents the third most important grain legume in semi-arid Africa.
Wikipedia: Vigna subterranea
Wikipedialead description or Wikipedia lead (primary-uses)Quote, lead description or Wikipedia lead (primary-uses)
It is grown widely across sub-Saharan Africa as a subsistence food crop valued for tolerating poor, sandy soils and erratic rainfall better than most other pulses, making it an important reserve crop in drought-prone regions.
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