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Post by castanea on Nov 17, 2010 23:30:22 GMT -5
Has anyone ever tried to grow these? Has anyone ever found a seed source? www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20000103"A wild plant that produces beans and potato-like roots, for decades harvested by the San people in Nambia, is showing huge potential towards solving many malnutrition and hunger problems in Africa, but specifically southern Africa. In their studies of the marama bean, researchers at the University of Cape Town’s Department of Botany have found it to be a versatile legume and potentially a high-protein, sustainable food crop for Africa. The bean, which is endemic to southern Africa, also yields high quantities of oil, produces a high-protein tuber like the potato or yam, and grows in poor quality soil. UCT’s Professor Felix Dakora says that if developed properly, the marama bean could eliminate traditional sources of protein and oil such as peanuts and soya beans. What makes this little plant even more important to South Africa and rest of the continent is the fact that it thrives in poor quality, sandy soil such as the Kalahari desert with little or almost no water. Dakora describes the marama plant as "a little green creeper growing wild in the veld". The leaves are bi-lobed, opening up in cooler conditions, but closing in hot dry conditions to conserve water and moisture. The marama produces edible and, according to Dakora, "tasty" tubers that can weigh up to 160 kg (per plant). The plant uses the tuber to store water." www.marama.life.ku.dk/ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50891 |
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Post by Hristo on Nov 18, 2010 6:39:34 GMT -5
I doubt it will thrive in my climate, but still would be interesting to try. I had a friend who passed last year  , which was like me fan of the unusual edible plants. His sister lives/works in Botswana, and he always asked me to point some plant(s) that she could search there and send to us, but I always tell him that I'm not aware of edible plants from there that could thrive here. During the years she sent him many seeds (before then she was in Zimbabwe until the changes there), but none of them could be grown outdoors here. If I knew about this species!... But maybe Frank can contact this blogger (and not only blogger) desertification.wordpress.com/about-me/Seems he may know something more about this plant: desertification.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/marama-bean-tylopsema-esculentum-green-gold-of-africa-la-vida-locavore-worldwatch/ |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Nov 18, 2010 10:15:56 GMT -5
I've just sent an email to Sandy Smuts of the Botany department asking if they could send me 10 to 20 seed beans. I told her that I could pay for the seed and mailing. I also offered to send some of the "specialer" seeds that I have available.
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Post by orflo on Nov 19, 2010 1:00:02 GMT -5
Counting on some goodwill, are we?? ;D ;D ;D I'll try to contact the guy, I've contacted him in the past but he never answered, so I might be lucky this time. I never heard of these beans, I'm sure they'll have a tough battle surviving in my garden, Africa does have some interesting fabaceae species. Here are some others, all will need a very warm climate ...: Sphenostylis stenocarpa: yam bean Sesbania sesban: I've seen that one once in the 'Matongé' area in Brussels, that's the 'African' place to be over there, I didn't buy it because it looked kind of old, I had to believe them when they said it was 'Serban d'Egypte'... And off course voandzeia subterranea, bambara groundnut, I'm pretty sure there's a thread on this over here |
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Post by castanea on Nov 19, 2010 1:57:26 GMT -5
I had bambara groundnut. I believe I got them from the USDA. Little or no germination.
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 19, 2010 10:30:04 GMT -5
I also have some bambarra groundnut (though regrettably, not enough to share around). I got most of mine from Soutern Exposure seed company, it's listed as Goober peas there (or at least it was, I don't think I've seen it in thier catalouge for a while, so I'm not 100% sure they still carry it). I wish you much luck in finding some (BTW The scientific name was chaged some time ago to Vigna suterrenea , so that the name you should probably be looking under first, as thats what it will most likey be listed under)
While we are on the subject of cleostomagous subterrenean African legumes. Any update on any of the efforts to track down seed of Hausa groundnut, Macrotyloma formerly Kerstingellia) geocarpum?
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Post by Hristo on Nov 19, 2010 12:18:17 GMT -5
The bambara groundnut was one of the first species in my wanted list 15+ years ago, when I started growing unusual plants. But it have never been in my internet wanted list and I never had tried to find/get seeds, not sure why?! Probably I though it can't be grown here. So is it possible to be grown successfully outdoors in temperate climate???
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 19, 2010 14:14:14 GMT -5
Well, the fact that I was able to get seed (BTW my mistake it wasnt Southern Exposure, it was South Carolina Seed foundation) and that the Foundation, to my knowedge, doesn't sell any seed that they themselves (or thier recognized local suppliers) produces indicates that it must be possible to propgate bambara groundnuts at least as far into the temperate zones as South Carolina. It's a bit like Baker creek and the rice beans they carry; however rare rice bean strains are that are daylight insensitive are in the general population, I have to assume that the ones Baker Creek sells must be of that type; they're headquarted out of MO (which can't have day lengths all that different from me in NY) which means that they have to be able to get the bean plants to go full cycle there, or they wouln't have any seed to offer (even if they contracted the seed out from someone much further south, I doubt that they'd carry the seed for more than a year or two if practically all of the people who bought it couln't get it to produce.)
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Post by wildseed57 on Nov 25, 2010 19:29:18 GMT -5
Baker's Creek has a multihood of small growers all over the US and just resently set up a big green house. I get most of my seeds from him for my garden, I wish he carried some more of the edble African legumes, as many could be grow in places like Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Texas.
I would love to have a few seeds to try in Missouri, we have a good six months of growing before we get our frost at the last part of October. if tuber production requires a short season I would be in trouble there, but seeds should be no problem to produce as the plants could be started indoors then transplanted outdoors when its warm enough for them.
George W.
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Post by orflo on Dec 6, 2010 13:10:16 GMT -5
Hausa groundnut: nothing yet, but I have more time in the winter to search thoroughly. And there's a lot of interesting stuff to be tried...  |
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Post by blueadzuki on Dec 6, 2010 16:30:21 GMT -5
Hausa groundnut: nothing yet, but I have more time in the winter to search thoroughly. And there's a lot of interesting stuff to be tried... Don't I know it!!!!!! BTW assuming that you do foraging as well as ordering (i.e. that you somtimes try and bring edible/useful native wild plants you happen to find into you care) I have an addional small request for you (and for any other European members who happen to be follwing this thread). I have heard tell that, in some parts of Southern Europe there is a strain of the domestic vetch ( Vicia satvia) which produces cleostomagous subterrenean pods in addion to the aboveground ones. If anyone comes across any of this could they let me know and possibly work out some sort of seed swap? |
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Post by orflo on Jan 27, 2011 15:35:08 GMT -5
I doubt it will thrive in my climate, but still would be interesting to try. I had a friend who passed last year , which was like me fan of the unusual edible plants. His sister lives/works in Botswana, and he always asked me to point some plant(s) that she could search there and send to us, but I always tell him that I'm not aware of edible plants from there that could thrive here. During the years she sent him many seeds (before then she was in Zimbabwe until the changes there), but none of them could be grown outdoors here. If I knew about this species!... But maybe Frank can contact this blogger (and not only blogger) desertification.wordpress.com/about-me/Seems he may know something more about this plant: desertification.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/marama-bean-tylopsema-esculentum-green-gold-of-africa-la-vida-locavore-worldwatch/I did get a reply from this professor recently, but he couldn't help me out, he didn't know where to find them either... |
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Post by castanea on Jan 29, 2011 14:23:30 GMT -5
Hausa groundnut: nothing yet, but I have more time in the winter to search thoroughly. And there's a lot of interesting stuff to be tried... Don't I know it!!!!!! BTW assuming that you do foraging as well as ordering (i.e. that you somtimes try and bring edible/useful native wild plants you happen to find into you care) I have an addional small request for you (and for any other European members who happen to be follwing this thread). I have heard tell that, in some parts of Southern Europe there is a strain of the domestic vetch ( Vicia satvia) which produces cleostomagous subterrenean pods in addion to the aboveground ones. If anyone comes across any of this could they let me know and possibly work out some sort of seed swap? The USDA has it: Vicia sativa ssp. amphicarpa |
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Post by castanea on Jan 29, 2011 14:27:29 GMT -5
I doubt it will thrive in my climate, but still would be interesting to try. I had a friend who passed last year , which was like me fan of the unusual edible plants. His sister lives/works in Botswana, and he always asked me to point some plant(s) that she could search there and send to us, but I always tell him that I'm not aware of edible plants from there that could thrive here. During the years she sent him many seeds (before then she was in Zimbabwe until the changes there), but none of them could be grown outdoors here. If I knew about this species!... But maybe Frank can contact this blogger (and not only blogger) desertification.wordpress.com/about-me/Seems he may know something more about this plant: desertification.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/marama-bean-tylopsema-esculentum-green-gold-of-africa-la-vida-locavore-worldwatch/I did get a reply from this professor recently, but he couldn't help me out, he didn't know where to find them either... The USDA has the closely related Tylosema fassoglense- "A creeping species, found in bushveld habitats of South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia and Angola, extending northwards to as far as Sudan. regions of South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia. Like Tylosema esculentum, it has large bean seeds that can be eaten as nuts after roasting." |
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Post by castanea on Jan 29, 2011 17:07:35 GMT -5
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, which was like me fan of the unusual edible plants. His sister lives/works in Botswana, and he always asked me to point some plant(s) that she could search there and send to us, but I always tell him that I'm not aware of edible plants from there that could thrive here. During the years she sent him many seeds (before then she was in Zimbabwe until the changes there), but none of them could be grown outdoors here. If I knew about this species!...
