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''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
in the family
Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...
. It is native to Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.''Lablab purpureus''.
Tropical Forages.
English language common names include hyacinth bean, lablab-bean bonavist bean/pea, dolichos bean, seim or sem bean, lablab bean, Egyptian kidney bean, Indian bean, bataw and Australian pea.''Lablab purpureus'' L. (Sweet).
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India.
It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Lablab''.


Description

The plant is variable due to extensive breeding in cultivation, but in general, they are annual or short-lived perennial vines. The wild species is perennial. The thick stems can reach in length. The leaves are made up of three pointed leaflets, each up to long. They may be hairy on the undersides. The inflorescence is made up of
raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s of many flowers. Some cultivars have white flowers, and others may have purplish or blue. The fruit is a
legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...
pod variable in shape, size, and color. It is usually several centimeters long and bright purple to pale green.''Dolichos lablab''.
Floridata.
It contains up to four seeds. The seeds are white, brown, red, or black depending on the cultivar, sometimes with a white hilum. Wild plants have mottled seeds. The seed is about a centimeter long.


Subspecific classification

According to the British biologist and taxonomist Bernard Verdcourt, :there are two cultivated subspecies of ''Lablab purpureus'' (L.) Sweet: :* ''Lablab purpureus'' subsp. ''bengalensis'' (Jacq.) Verdc. (Syn.: ''Dolichos bengalensis'' Jacq., ''Dolichos lablab'' subsp. ''bengalensis'' (Jacq.) Rivals, ''Lablab niger'' subsp. ''bengalensis'' (Jacq.) Cuf.) :* ''Lablab purpureus'' subsp. ''purpureus'' :in addition to one wild subspecies: :* ''Lablab purpureus'' subsp. ''uncinatus'' :of which a special variant with lobed leaflets exists only in Namibia: :* ''Lablab purpureus'' var. ''rhomboïdeus'' (Schinz).


Uses

The hyacinth bean is an old domesticated pulse and multi-purpose crop. ''L. purpureus'' has been cultivated in India as early as 2500 BC. Due to seed availability of one forage cultivar (cv. Rongai), it is often grown as forage for livestock and as an ornamental plant. In addition, it is cited both as a medicinal plant and a poisonous plant.''Dolichos lablab'' (''Lablab purpureus'').
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina.
North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
.
The fruit and beans are edible if boiled well with several changes of the water. Otherwise, they are toxic due to the presence of
cyanogenic Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a ...
glycosides, glycosides that are converted to
hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an ...
when consumed. Signs of poisoning include weakness, vomiting, shortness of breath, twitching,
stupor Stupor is the lack of critical mental function and a level of consciousness, in which an affected person is almost entirely unresponsive and responds only to intense stimuli such as pain. The word derives from the Latin '' stupor'' ("numbness, inse ...
, and
convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a s ...
s. It has been shown that there is a wide range of cyanogenic potential among the varieties. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked like
spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
. The flowers can be eaten raw or steamed. The root can be boiled or baked for food. The seeds are used to make tofu and tempeh.


Food in South Asia

In India lablab is called (in Gujarati). In Bangladesh and West Bengal, the green pods along with the beans, known as ''Sheem'' (শিম), are cooked as vegetables or cooked with fish as a curry. In Kerala, it is known as '', '' or ' ( Malayalam: ). The beans as well as the bean pods are used in cooking curries. The bean pods are also used (along with spices) for preparing a stir-fried dish known as '' ''. In Tamil Nadu, it is called ''Avarai'' or ''Avaraikkaay'' (Tamil: அவரைக்காய் / அவரை). The entire bean is used in cooking dry ''curries'' and in sauces/gravies such as '' sambar''. The seed alone is used in many recipes and is referred to as ''mochai'' (Tamil: மொச்சை / மொச்சைக்கொட்டை). In
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, dry preparations with green masala are often made out of these green beans (Ghevda varieties; Shravan ghevda (French beans), Bajirao Ghevda, Ghevda, Walwar, Pavta sheng) mostly at the end of monsoon season during fasting festivals of Shravan month. In Karnataka, the hyacinth bean is made into curry (''avarekalu saaru'')( kn, ಅವರೆಕಾಳು ಸಾರು), salad (''avarekaalu usli''), added to upma (''avrekaalu
uppittu Upma, uppumavu, or uppittu is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent, most common in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtrian, and Sri Lankan Tamil breakfast, cooked as a thick porridge from dry-roaste ...
''), and as a flavoring to Akki rotti. Sometimes the outer peel of the seed is removed and the inner soft part is used for a variety of dishes. This form is called ''hitakubele avarekalu'', which means "pressed (''hitaku'') hyacinth bean," and a curry known as ''Hitikida Avarekaalu Saaru'' is made out of the deskinned beans. In Telangana and
Andra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, the bean pods are cut into small pieces and cooked as spicy curry in
Pongal Pongal may refer to: * Pongal (festival) Pongal (, ), also referred to as Tai Pongal (), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka.
festival season. Sometimes the outer peel of the seed when tender and soaked overnight is removed and the inner soft part is used for a variety of dishes. This form is called ''pitakapappu hanupa/anapa'', which means "pressed (''pitaku'') hyacinth bean, and a curry known as Pitikida Anapaginjala Chaaru is made from the deskinned beans and eaten along with ''bajra'' bread; it has been a very special delicacy for centuries.


Food in Southeast and East Asia

In Huế, Vietnam, hyacinth beans are the main ingredient of the dish ''chè đậu ván'' (Hyacinth Bean Sweet Soup). In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the seeds are known as ''Bai Bian Dou''. They are usually dried and baked before being used in traditional Chinese herbal remedies to strengthen the spleen, reduce heat and dampness, and promote appetite.


Food tradition in East Africa

In Kenya, the bean, known as ''njahe'' or ''njahi'', is popular among several communities, especially the
Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: *Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Centr ...
. Seasons were actually based on it, i.e., the Season of Njahe ( Kīmera kīa njahī). It is thought to encourage lactation and has historically been the main dish for breastfeeding mothers. Beans are boiled and mashed with ripe and/or semi-ripe bananas, giving the dish a sweet taste. Today the production is in decline in eastern Africa. This is partly attributed to the fact that under colonial rule in Kenya, farmers were forced to give up their local bean in order to produce common beans (''
Phaseolus vulgaris ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its botanical classification, alo ...
'') for export.


Medicinal use

Taiwanese research found that a carbohydrate-binding protein (i.e. a legume lectin) from the edible Lablab beans effectively blocks the infections of influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2.


Gallery

File:BCBG lablab purpureus 02.jpg, Foliage File:Lablab purpureus.JPG, Flowers Image:Lablab purpureus Steve Hurst 1.jpg, Seeds


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Dolichos bean, ''Lablab purpureus'' (L.) Sweet
by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India *
JSTOR Global Plants: ''Lablab purpureus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1077410 Phaseoleae Monotypic Fabaceae genera Edible legumes Flora of the Maldives Forages Nitrogen-fixing crops Tropical agriculture Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus sa:निष्पावः