- Vigna lanceolata
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Pencil yam Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Phaseoleae Genus: Vigna Species: V. lanceolata Binomial name Vigna lanceolata Vigna lanceolata, known as the pencil yam, is an Australian native plant. Its name in the Arrernte language of Central Australia is Merne arlatyeye.
Pencil yam is an important bush tucker food for Aborigines, and there are many Dreaming rituals around it. It is still commonly eaten in the desert today. It is a slender twining plant with yellow pea flowers throughout the year.
Aboriginal people from the desert dig them up in creekbeds. They look for the white roots, then cook them in the hot earth beside the fire until they are just firm.
Esteemed artist Emily Kngwarreye had an individual Dreaming around the pencil yam. This meant she had been given stories about the origins of the pencil yam, and was entitled to tell these stories and paint the yam.
External links
- Vigna lanceolata (Alice Springs town council)
Categories:- Fabales of Australia
- Bushfood
- Australian Aboriginal bushcraft
- Australian Aboriginal culture
- Vigna
- Flora of New South Wales
- Flora of Queensland
- Flora of Victoria (Australia)
- Flora of the Northern Territory
- Flora of South Australia
- Rosids of Western Australia
- Faboideae stubs
- Indigenous peoples of Australia stubs
- Australian rosid stubs
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