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Erythrina edulis
Basul is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing legume tree from the Andes, grown for its protein-rich beans and pods. It needs warm tropical conditions and well-drained soil, and it propagates easily from cuttings or seed.
Erythrina edulis (basul) is a Andean tree species. It is nitrogen fixing and potentially useful in agroforestry, but is not commonly cultivated. It is a legume, producing protein-rich beans pods that can be used for human or animal nutrition.
Erythrina edulis is a vigorous, fast-growing precocious legume species, and is considered one of the easiest trees to grow. As it is sensitive to the cold, it grows only in the tropics and is not suitable for temperate regions. Optimum temperatures are between 15 and 22 °C (59 and 72 °F), and it grows in a broad range of altitudes, from 900 to 3,200 m (3,000 to 10,500 ft) above sea level. In its native habitat, the average annual precipitation varies between 450 and 1,800 mm (18 and 71 in). It grows best in well-drained soils with a sandy or clayey texture and a pH ranging from 5.5 to 7.
Erythrina edulis is a totipotent plant and thus propagates easily. Hence, stems can be cut and planted into the soil and will sprout. Propagation can also be achieved by planting mature seeds and in most cases they germinate easily. Grafting is another possibility; the advantage is that seed production will start earlier. The seeds must be planted very soon after harvesting because they lose their viability 8 days after harvesting.
It is native to the Andean region from western Venezuela to southern Bolivia.
Basul can be used as a food source for humans and animals. The tree carries pods with grains. The length of these pods varies between 15 and 65 cm (6 and 26 in), with an average around 32 cm (13 in). The green pods can be eaten, but it is more common to eat the mature grains. Every pod contains 6 grains, which are 1.4–6.4 cm (1⁄2–2+1⁄2 in) long and have a weight between 15–30 g (0.5–1.1 oz). The fresh grains have a high water content, around 80%. Due to this water content, the grains cannot be stored very well. On dry matter basis, the grains have a protein content between 18 and 23%. The protein is composed like protein in most legumes, with a high lysine content and lower concentrations of sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine) and tryptophan. The grains also contain a high amount of starch (26-40%). The amino acid pattern of the seeds of E. edulis forms a good complement to cereals and tubers.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Erythrina edulis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
