Lisutsa
Lisutsa, also known as namasaka (Lubukusu) or risuza (Maragoli), is a traditional vegetable that is called managu in Gikuyu and black nightshade in English. Due to the propagation and cultivation of less bitter varieties (Solanum scabrum), this vegetable has become more and more popular in recent years.
Four varieties—Solanum villosum, Solanum niqrum, Scabrum, and S. americanum—are frequently eaten. In Kenya, lusustsa has achieved commercial success, despite the fact that some of these veggies are harvested in the wild.
Inderema
The “money plant” is a type of indoor climbing plant. You may be able to identify inderema in the wild if you were raised in a home with one. This is due to the fact that inderema resembles a small-scale money plant in appearance.
But when inderema is cooked like a vegetable, it takes on a slippery consistency similar to that of murenda. Indomera is frequently referred to as Indian spinach.
In the natural, riverine habitats are frequently home to inderema. Once tamed, it is planted amid protectively shaded banana plants. In addition, I frequently see inderema creeping on hedges in urban settings.
Tsimboka
See the libokoyi above as well. Asystasia schimperi, Digera muricota, and Coccinia grandis are examples of wild types that grow as weeds in agricultural settings. While litoto refers to Amaranthus hybridus, the Bukusu have emboka, which is Amaranthus lividus. This family of vegetables is also referred to as livokoi among the Maragoli.
Linyolonyolo
The most prevalent kind of this vegetable, called lifwafwa (Commelina bhenqalensis), is found in agricultural fields and lush woodland regions.
I’m not sure what you would say about linyolonyolo (Lwidakho) if you believed that makhalaba was the least favorite traditional Luhya vegetable. Known by several names, including Commelina spp. (scientific name), linyoronyoro (Maragoli), lifwafwa/sikaangaya (Lubukusu), Wondering Jew (English), and others, this traditional vegetable holds great cultural significance.
Learn more about the history of how linyolonyolo entered Mulembe diets, how it was used in Luhya traditional medicine, why eating it was frowned upon for expectant mothers, and how a Luhya folktale solidifies its status as the most despised of Luhya traditional vegetables.
Shirietso
vegetable made from the leaves of the Erythrococca bongensis tree, according to science. This little tree or shrub can occasionally climb and is found beside roadsides, rivers, lakes, forests, and wilderness.
Lirunde
In agriculture, this vegetable emerges as a weed, especially while weeding is taking place.
Shikhubayeka
Although shikhubayeka is more well-known for its application in the treatment of endwasi, it is a vegetable with a flavor similar to likhubi. Vigna membranacea is the scientific name for this wild climbing plant, which is found in mountainous and wooded locations naturally.
Imbetsa
Climbing vines, imbetsa turns slimy when cooked. Like the leaves of the miroo (mito). It is only observed along streams where there is minimal human disturbance during the dry season. They may even flourish in populated locations where the seeds have been left, such a house complex.
