ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecol-ogy, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Cordeauxia Edulis Hemsl. Seeds said to be edible raw or cooked, likened by one author to a chestnut, by another to a cashew. Much relished by the Somalians, often preferred to the usual diet of rice and dates. Only brought under cultivation at the Central Agricultural Research Station at Afgoi, Somalia, and at Voi and Galana Ranch, Kenya. Somalians use the magenta-red coloring matter to stain textiles. Seeds germinate as high as 80%, the seedlings quickly developing a thin but tough tap root, which complicates transplanting. Hence, field seeding is recommended. Reported from the Ethiopian Center of Diversity, yeheb, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate drought, high pH, poor red sandy soils, sand, and savanna.
