DIPOGON LIGNOSUS
Okie bean
Common names: Cape sweet pea (Eng.), bosklimop, rankertjie, wilde-ertjie (Afr.)
 INTRODUCTION
Dipogon lignosus, or Okie bean, is an enthusiastic twiner. Maybe a bit too enthusiastic, because it can become invasive in your garden if you don’t keep an eye on it.
Interestingly, wherever we saw it in the veld, it knew its place amongst all the other plants and was not invasive.
DESCRIPTION
Okie bean has fragrant pink, mauve, magenta and purple pea flowers and produces sickle-shaped pods containing four to six seeds.
It is waterwise and very hardy.
HABITAT & DISTRIBUTION
We have found this semi-evergreen climber on the eastern side of Klein-Hangklip and all along the coast to Kleinmond, where we also saw it in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve.
Okie bean occurs from the Western to the Eastern Cape, usually near forests and streams.
ECOLOGY
Dipogon lignosus is a valuable plant in the veld. Being a legume, it naturally enriches the soil through nitrogen-fixing bacteria living in its root nodules.
STATUS
Status: Least Concern
In Australia and New Zealand, however, Okie bean is considered invasive.

Click to find out more on iNaturalist