Lessertia frutescens
| Lessertia frutescens | |
|---|---|
| Foliage, flowers and immature seed pods, at Rooikoppe, Little Karroo, Western Cape, South Africa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Lessertia |
| Species: | L. frutescens
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lessertia frutescens (L.) Goldblatt & J.C.Manning
| |
Lessertia frutescens (syn. Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R.Br.; Colutea frutescens L.) is a southern African legume in the family Fabaceae. It is also known as cancer bush, balloon pea, Cape bladder pea, sutherlandia; and phetola ("it changes") in seTswana, and insiswa ("the one that drives away the darkness") in isiZulu. It is a shrub with bitter, aromatic leaves, with red-orange flowers appearing in spring to mid-summer. These are followed by inflated, air-filled pods containing the seeds.