About Phanera vahlii (Wight & Arn.) Benth.
Phanera vahlii (Wight & Arn.) Benth. is a perennial liana (woody climbing creeper) belonging to the Fabaceae family, and it is native to the northern and central Indian subcontinent. This species can grow up to 15 metres (49 feet) in a single year, and eventually reaches a maximum length of 30 m (98 ft). Its stem can grow up to 20 cm (7.9 in) thick. Its leaves are two-lobed, growing up to 46 cm (18 in) long, and are almost as wide as they are long. Stems and petioles of Phanera vahlii are covered in reddish hair-like trichomes. The species produces white flowers that are 2–3 cm in diameter; these flowers fade to yellow as they age, and contain three fertile stamens and seven staminodes. Its fruit is a pod that measures 20–30 cm in length. Roasted seeds of this woody climber are edible. Phanera vahlii grows at altitudes up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Its distribution spans the Himalaya from Sikkim and Nepal, across India including Himachal Pradesh, and extends to Punjab, Pakistan, reaching south as far as the Mumbai and Chennai areas.
