Tetragonolobus

a genus of plants of the family Leguminosae. These annual or perennial herbs have decumbent stems and ternate leaves. The yellow or purple flowers reach 3 cm in length and are borne singly or in groups of two to four on a long peduncle. The fruit is a four-angled pod. There are six species, distributed in Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. The USSR has two species: T. maritimus and T. purpureus. The former grows predominantly in coastal meadows in the western European portion, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. T. purpureus (formerly T. siliquosus) is found in damp meadows in the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is sometimes cultivated in Western Europe, where its young pods are used as food and its roasted seeds are used as a coffee substitute.