Vigna frutescens

Botanical Description

Vigna frutescens is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a woody rootstock (the tuber is often 5cm wide). The stems scramble over the ground, twining into the surrounding vegetation for support; they are usually 50 - 150cm long, but can be up to 400cm when supported by other plants. After being cut back by fire, the plant will often start flowering when the stems are only 7 - 20cm long and still erect, before the leaves appear[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. , 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for its root, which is used locally as a food. The plant bears fragrant, beautiful lavender-violet flowers and is sometimes grown as an ornamental in gardens[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ].