Vigna lanceolata

{{short description|Species of plant}}

{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the African plant Lavigeria macrocarpa in family Icacinaceae, also called "bush carrot"}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Vigna lanceolata specimen.jpg

| genus = Vigna

| species = lanceolata

| authority = Benth.{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Vigna+lanceolata |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121127033516/http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Vigna+lanceolata |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 November 2012 |title=Vigna lanceolata |access-date=3 July 2012 |work=Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database |publisher=Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra }}

}}

Vigna lanceolata, known as the pencil yam,{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} native bean, Maloga bean,{{GRIN | accessdate = 21 January 2018}} parsnip bean, Ngarlajiyi,{{cite book|author1=West, M. |author2=Mackinolty, C. |author3=Pedersen, B.A. |author4=Napurrurla, Y.L.F. |author5=Nicholls, C. |year=2011|title=Yulyurlu: Lorna Fencer Napurrurla|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=9781743050095|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7etoJ5MtPgC}} small yam, yam, bush carrot, Wapurtali, Wapirti, and Wajaraki is an Australian native plant. Its name in the Arrernte language of Central Australia is Merne arlatyeye.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

Bush carrot is an important bush tucker food for Australian Aboriginal people, and there are many Dreaming rituals around it. It is still commonly eaten in the desert today. It is a slender twining plant with yellow pea flowers throughout the year.

Aboriginal people from the desert dig them up in creekbeds. They look for the white roots, then cook them in the hot earth beside the fire until they are just firm.

Esteemed artist Emily Kngwarreye had an individual Dreaming around the pencil yam. This meant she had been given stories about the origins of the pencil yam, and was entitled to tell these stories and paint the yam.