Last edited on November 04, 2026. View history
Bambara Groundnut
Bambara Groundnut
Drought-tolerant African legume that ripens its pods underground, like peanuts. The seeds are boiled, roasted or ground into flour. A low, bushy plant suited to poor soils and hot climates.
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Bambara groundnut facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For bambara groundnut, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 16°C and a shortest growing cycle of 90 days at its best temperature, about 765 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your bambara groundnut will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
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Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Rosidae Fabales Leguminosae |
|---|---|
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual |
| Habit | prostrate/procumbent/semi-erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | light |
| Optimal soil fertility | low |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
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