In recent years, so-called ‘lost crops’ have been appraised in a number of reviews, among them Lablab purpureus in the context of African vegetable species. This crop cannot truly be considered ‘lost’ because worldwide more than 150 common names are applied to it. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this paper aims to put forward four theses, (i) Lablab is one of the most diverse domesticated legume species and has multiple uses. Although its largest agro-morphological diversity occurs in South Asia, its origin appears to be Africa. (ii) Crop improvement in South Asia is based on limited genetic diversity. (iii) The restricted research and development performed in Africa focuses either on improving forage or soil properties mostly through one popular cultivar, Rongai, while the available diversity of lablab in Africa might be under threat of genetic erosion. (iv) Lablab is better adapted to drought than common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) or cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), both of which have been preferred to lablab in African agricultural production systems. Lablab might offer comparable opportunities for African agriculture in the view of global change. Its wide potential for adaptation throughout eastern and southern Africa is shown with a GIS (geographic information systems) approach.

中文翻译：

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Lablab purpureus-非洲损失的作物？

近年来，所谓的“丢失的作物”在许多评论中得到了评价，其中Lablab purpureus在非洲蔬菜物种的背景下。这种作物不能真正被视为“丢失”，因为全世界有 150 多个通用名称被应用到它上面。在综合文献综述的基础上，本文旨在提出四个论点，(i) Lablab 是最多样化的驯化豆科植物之一，具有多种用途。虽然其最大的农业形态多样性发生在南亚，但它的起源似乎是非洲。(ii) 南亚的作物改良基于有限的遗传多样性。(iii) 在非洲进行的有限研究和开发主要通过一种流行的品种 Rongai 来改善草料或土壤特性，而非洲可用的实验室多样性可能受到遗传侵蚀的威胁。(iv) Lablab 比普通豆类更能适应干旱（Phaseolus vulgaris ) 或豇豆 ( Vigna unguiculata )，在非洲农业生产系统中，这两种植物都被偏爱用于lablab。从全球变化的角度来看，Lablab 可能为非洲农业提供类似的机会。GIS（地理信息系统）方法显示了它在整个非洲东部和南部的广泛适应潜力。