Bambara groundnuts — also called bambara beans — are the fruits of Voandzeia subterranea (syn. Vigna subterranea), grown extensively through the tropics, especially Africa. The seeds carry plenty of starch and protein but few minerals, and only about half the oil of true groundnuts (peanuts). People eat them fresh, boiled or roasted, or grind them into meal for porridge or bean cakes; immature seeds taste sweeter and cook more easily than mature hard ones. Their ability to produce on poor, dry soils makes them a food-security cornerstone for smallholders. Wider promotion could bring this resilient, nutritious legume the attention its agronomic strengths deserve.