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Genus: Vigna Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants)
> Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering
plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Rosids >
Eurosid I > Fabales > Family: Fabaceae > Subfamily: Papilionoideae
About
160 species, widespread in tropical regions, with 13 species native
to southern Africa, one species is naturalised, and a further three
species are cultivated in the region.
Species native to southern Africa
List from
Plants of southern Africa (POSA)
- an online checklist (SANBI).
Vigna friesiorum |
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Vigna frutescens
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Vigna kokii |
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Vigna lobatifolia
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Vigna luteola |
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Vigna marina
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Vigna monophylla |
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Vigna mudenia
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Vigna nervosa |
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Vigna oblongifolia
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Vigna pygmaea |
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Vigna unguiculata (Cowpea,
Asparagus bean, Yard-long bean) |
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Vigna vexillata
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Species naturalised in southern Africa
List from
Plants of southern Africa (POSA)
- an online checklist (SANBI).
Other species, cultivated in southern Africa
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Vigna caracalla (Snail vine, Snail flower)
Native to tropical South America. |
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Vigna radiata (Mung bean)
Mung beans originate from India and India remains a
leading producer of this legume. Most mung beans are olive green in colour but
they can also be yellow, brown, or mottled black. They are an excellent source
of folic acid and a good source of magnesium, phosphorus and thiamin. Mung
beans are an important food in rural areas of southern Africa, where the dry
bean seeds are used or the beans themselves are eaten as a vegetable. |
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Vigna subterranea (Jugo
bean, Bambara groundnut, African groundnut) |
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