CAT-00117
Pencil yam / maloga bean
Vigna lanceolata
Catalog fields
- Genus
- Vigna
- Photo
- Not recorded
- Edible
- Yes
- layout
- single
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Published
- Yes
- Food group
- Root / tuber
- Latin name
- Vigna lanceolata
- Fruit photo
- Not recorded
- Plant title
- Pencil yam / maloga bean
- Source URLs
- https://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/1.Crawford.pdf; https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?lvl=sp&name=Vigna~lanceolata&page=nswfl Open source ↗ Open source 2 ↗
- Catalogue ID
- CAT-00117
- Mature width
- Depends on support
- Native range
- Across much of mainland Australia, especially warmer habitats.
- Plant family
- Fabaceae
- Supplier SKU
- Not recorded
- Listing group
- Regional / traditional food plant
- Mature height
- Trailing or twining stems to 2 m
- Native states
- NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC, WA
- Original list
- No
- Research date
- 10/10/2026
- Research notes
- Profile enriched from botanical/nursery sources. Dimensions are unpruned regional estimates where available; missing measurements remain explicit. Seasons are regional guides and vary with climate, location, cultivar and plant maturity. Drought and cultivation guidance are qualitative garden inferences, not measured ratings.
- Evidence status
- Published food use; preparation detail review pending
- Fruiting season
- Pods after flowers.
- Background photo
- Not recorded
- Edible component
- Cooked tuberous roots
- Flowering season
- Summer.
- Brief description
- Perennial twining or trailing legume with underground storage roots.
- Drought tolerance
- Moderate to high survival tolerance; growth responds to moisture.
- Preparation notes
- Use correctly identified underground food part; cooking and preparation need confirmation.
- Flower description
- Green-yellow pea-shaped flowers in small racemes.
- General cultivation
- General guidance (qualitative): Possible warm-season trial with drainage and species-specific preparation guidance.
- Botanical description
- Not recorded
- Other botanical names
- Not recorded
- Attracts birds and bugs
- Native bees and insects visit flowers; canopy shelters birds.
- Flora of Australia profile
- Not recorded
- Fruit type and description
- Slender dry legume pods; root is the recorded food component.
- Flora of Australia citation
- Not recorded
- Flora of Australia retrieved
- Not recorded