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Flemingia grahamiana
Fabaceae FAMILY

Flemingia grahamiana

Flemingia grahamiana

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Species in this genus generally succeed in sunny and partially shady positions so long as the soil is well-drained[1]. The first fruits can be harvested after about one year after the seed is sown[2] After picking the fruits, the shrub is cut down at about 15cm from ground level. It sprouts again after rain, and bears fruits a second time after about six months. The cutting back is repeated every second year until the plant dies[2]. Rain destroys the fruits for commercial purposes; therefore they are only gathered in the dry season. The harvested fruits are first dried (some days in the sun), put in a bag, which then is beaten to loosen the tinctorial powder. Alternatively the fruits are rubbed over a sieve[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and 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. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Flemingia+grahamiana>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants — Ahmed Fayaz · Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand · 2011 · ISBN 978-1-55407-489 ↩︎A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  4. [4]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  5. [5]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  6. [6]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
  7. [7]Phytochemical and Pharmacological potential of Flemingia Roxb. Ex W.T.Aiton (Fabaceae) — Kavita Ghalot; V.K.Lal.; S.Jha · 2011 · http://www.arjournals.org/index.php/ijpm/index · ISBN 0975-0185 ↩︎
  8. [8]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.