Sphenostylis stenocarpa
Sphenostylis stenocarpa
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 23 - 29°c, but can tolerate 15 - 35°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 800 - 1,400mm[1]. Requires a dry period when flowering[2]. Prefers a position in full sun[1]. Grows best in a fertile, sandy soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 7[1]. Although perennial, the plant is usually treated as an annual in cultivation[1]. Harvesting of the seedpods can commence about 5 months after sowing, and continue for another 2 months[2]. Tubers mature 7 - 8 months after sowing[2]. Optimum yields of the seed is 2 tonnes per hectare, and of the tubers 4 tonnes[1]. Plants are probably day length sensitive[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]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]Lost Crops of Africa. Vol. 2 Vegetables. — National Academy Press · 2006 · ISBN 0309103339 ↩︎Masses of information on about 70 species of plants that have been utilized as vegetables in Africa.
- [5]Economic Botany of Sphenostylis (Leguminosae) — Potter D. · 1992 · http://www.jstor.org/stable/4255442 ↩︎
- [6]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
- [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.