Tephrosia vogelii

Tephrosia vogelii, the Vogel's tephrosia, fish-poison-bean or Vogel tephrosia (English), tefrósia (Portuguese) or barbasco guineano (Spanish), is a flowering plant species in the genus Tephrosia. It is a herb or small tree that is native to tropical Africa and has also been used in tropical America as well as South and Southeast Asia. It is commonly used to deter pests and diseases, specifically fleas and ticks on animals. It is not suitable for livestock or human consumption because it is not highly nutritious and can be poisonous for fish and some other animals. Since it is a nitrogen-fixing plant, it can be intercropped with other plants and used as a source of green manure. Tephrosia vogelii is commonly known as the “fish bean”, “fish-poison bean”, or “vogel’s tephrosia”. It is a small tree used by farmers in numerous countries in Africa to get rid of pests on livestock, control pests in cultivated fields as an organic pesticide, improves soil fertility, as a medicine for skin diseases and internal worms, and for storage of crops. The use of “Tephrosia leaf extract as a low cost acaricide is spreading to farmers in central Kenya” and has been very successful in terms of its results.