Cordeauxia edulis, also known as the ye'eb (yicib in Somali), yeheb or jeheb nut is a species of tree from the monotypic genus Cordeauxia. The tree is native to the Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...

 where it is found in semi-desert bushland in Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 and Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. It is also grown as a cultivated species in Kenya and Sudan for food and the extraction of a purple-coloured dye. The native populations of the species are threatened with extinction due to animal grazing and the use of the nutritious seed as a food source, which prevents the development of new trees.

The seed is rich in protein and lipids, and is a particularly good source of the amino acid

Amino acid

Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

s lysine and arginine. Viability of the seed is said to be limited to 4 months.

External links

• "Wild Food" Plans with "Famine Foods" Components: Cordeauxia edulis (Famine Food Guide website)