Edible Landscape - Kacang Kelisa

This perennial climber is also known as Goa Bean (Malay Name : Kacang Kelisa, Kacang Botol
Botanical Name : Psophocarpus Tetragonolobus).  It is am amazing plant as the whole plant is edible - the leave are cooked an eaten as a vegetable similar to spinach, the flower can be used to cook with the leaves, the bean can be eaten either raw as ulam or cooked, the root can be cooked similar to potatoes, and the mature bean seeds can be ground to flour or roasted and used to make a coffee-like drink.  One could prepare a complete meal, including a drink, from this plant - simply amazing - an all-in-one plant.

As it is a climber, at the farm, it is grown on a trellis, providing a nice, shady arbor when one can enjoy the day,  With its beautiful purple and white flowers, it can be a beautiful addition to a garden landscape and it requires minimal maintenance.  It has the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere so requires minimal fertilizers.  You can also get away without giving it any fertilizer.

This plant is propagated from its mature seeds which are almost black in color.  It takes about 3-4 days to sprout and does very well in our sunny Malaysian climate with its abundance of rain and sun.  To maintain its beauty, just remove the old leaves regularly as this will also encourage it to produce new shoots and flowers which turns into the bean.

It is very nutritious - the leaves contain a high amount of vitamin A, C and Iron whilst the bean has all those wonderful Bs - riboflavin, B6, Thiamin, etc.  As it is versatile, there are many ways to consume it.