''Canavalia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plants in the legume family (

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

) that comprises approximately 62

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

s. Members of the genus are commonly known as jack-beans. It has a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

distribution. The species of ''Canavalia''

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

were named ''āwikiwiki'' by the

Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesian ...

. The name translates to "the very quick one" and comes from the Hawaiian word for "fast". The genus name is derived from the Malabar word for the species, ''kavavali'', which means "forest climber."

Uses

Several species are valued legume crops, including common jack-bean ('' C. ensiformis''), sword bean ('' C. gladiata'') and '' C. cathartica''. At least the first makes a beneficial

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

- and

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

-suppressing living mulch. The common jack-bean is also a source of the

lectin Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar Moiety (chemistry), groups that are part of other molecules, so cause agglutination (biology), agglutination of particular cells or precipitation of glycoconjugates an ...

concanavalin A Concanavalin A (ConA) is a lectin (carbohydrate-binding protein) originally extracted from the jack-bean (''Canavalia ensiformis''). It is a member of the legume lectin family. It binds specifically to certain structures found in various sugars, ...

, which is used as a

reagent In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...

glycoprotein Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide (sugar) chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known a ...

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

. The jack-bean is also a common source of purified

urease Ureases (), functionally, belong to the superfamily of amidohydrolases and phosphotriesterases. Ureases are found in numerous Bacteria, Archaea, fungi, algae, plants, and some invertebrates. Ureases are nickel-containing metalloenzymes of high ...

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

used in scientific research. The bay bean ('' Canavalia rosea'') is supposedly mildly

psychoactive A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...

when smoked, and is used in

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

substitutes.

Ecology

Some animals have

adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

to the defensive chemicals of jack-beans.

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s such as that of the two-barred flasher (''Astraptes fulgerator'') are sometimes found on ''Canavalia''. The

plant pathogen Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

ascomycete Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

'' Mycosphaerella canavaliae'' was described from a jack-bean. Introduced

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

s have wreaked havoc on ''Canavalia'' on the

and made some nearly

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

; it may be that these lost their chemical defenses because no herbivorous

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s existed in their range until introduced by humans. The usually bright pea-flowers are pollinated by

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s such as

solitary bee Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to: * Solitary (album), ''Solitary'' (album), 2008 album by Don Dokken * Solitary (2020 film), ''Solitary'' (2020 film), a British sci-fi thriller film * Solitary (upcoming fi ...

s and

carpenter bee Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant m ...

s such as '' Xylocopa confusa''.

History

The genus name ''Canavalia'' was, as recently as 1913, known as ''Canavali''. The name of the genus comes from a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

for '' Canavalia rosea'' used in India and adapted by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss people, Swiss botany, botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple ...

Diversity

Species include: *'' Canavalia acuminata'' Rose *'' Canavalia africana'' Dunn *'' Canavalia altipendula'' ( Piper) Standl. *'' Canavalia aurita'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia bicarinata'' Standl. *'' Canavalia boliviana'' Piper *'' Canavalia bonariensis'' Lindl. *'' Canavalia brasiliensis'' Mart. ex Benth. – Barbicou-bean, ''feijão-bravo do Ceará'' (Brazil) *'' Canavalia campylocarpa'' Piper *'' Canavalia cathartica'' Thouars (syn. ''C. virosa'' (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.) *'' Canavalia centralis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia concinna'' J.D.Sauer *'' Canavalia dolichothyrsa'' G.P. Lewis *'' Canavalia dura'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia ensiformis'' ( L.) DC. – common jack-bean, giant stock-bean, gotani-bean, horse-bean, seaside-bean, wonder-bean, ''feijão-de-porco'' (Brazil) *'' Canavalia eurycarpa'' Piper *'' Canavalia forbesii'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia galeata'' ( Gaudich.) Vogel (

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

) *'' Canavalia glabra'' (M. Martens & Galeotti) J.D.Sauer *'' Canavalia gladiata'' (Jacq.) DC. – sword bean, scimitar-bean *'' Canavalia grandiflora'' Benth. *'' Canavalia haleakalaensis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia hawaiiensis'' O.Deg., I.Deg. & J.D.Sauer *'' Canavalia hirsutissima'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia iaoensis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia kauaiensis'' J.D.Sauer *'' Canavalia lineata'' (Thunb.) DC. *'' Canavalia macrobotrys'' Merr. *'' Canavalia macropleura'' Piper *'' Canavalia madagascariensis'' J.D.Sauer *'' Canavalia makahaensis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia mattogrossensis'' (Barb. Rodr.) Malme *'' Canavalia matudae'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia microsperma'' Urb. *'' Canavalia mollis'' Wight & Arn. *'' Canavalia molokaiensis'' O.Deg., I.Deg. & J.D.Sauer – Molokai jack-bean *'' Canavalia munroi'' (O.Deg. & I.Deg.) H.St.John *'' Canavalia napaliensis'' H.St.John – Mākaha Valley jack-bean *'' Canavalia nitida'' (Cav.) Piper – Cathie's bean *'' Canavalia nualoloensis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia obidensis'' Ducke *'' Canavalia oxyphylla'' Standl. & L.O. Williams *'' Canavalia palmeri'' (Piper) Standl. *'' Canavalia papuana'' Merr. & L.M. Perry *'' Canavalia parviflora'' Benth. *'' Canavalia peninsularis'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia picta'' Benth. *'' Canavalia piperi'' Killip & J.F.Macbr. *'' Canavalia plagiosperma'' Piper – giant bean, oblique-seed jack-bean *'' Canavalia pubescens'' Hook. & Arn. – lavafield jack-bean *'' Canavalia raiateensis'' J.W. Moore *'' Canavalia ramosii'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia regalis'' Piper & Dunn *'' Canavalia rockii'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia rosea'' (Sw.) DC. – bay bean, beach-bean, coastal jack-bean, fire-bean, Mackenzie-bean *'' Canavalia rutilans'' DC. *'' Canavalia sanguinea'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia saueri'' Fantz *'' Canavalia septentrionalis'' J.D. Sauer *'' Canavalia sericea'' A. Gray *'' Canavalia sericophylla'' Ducke *'' Canavalia stenophylla'' H.St.John *'' Canavalia villosa'' Benth.

Formerly placed here

*'' Dysolobium grande'' (Wall. ex Benth.) Prain (as ''C. grandis'' (Wall. ex Benth.) Kurz)

Gallery

File:Canavalia gladiata - P1100580.JPG, '' Canavalia gladiata'' File:Starr 040410-0108 Canavalia pubescens.jpg, '' Canavalia pubescens'' File:Starr 080208-2482 Canavalia hawaiiensis.jpg, '' Canavalia hawaiiensis'' File:Canavalia napaliensis (6259061207).jpg, '' Canavalia napaliensis'' File:Beach Bean (Canavalia rosea) (6035947049).jpg, '' Canavalia rosea''

References

External links

International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...

''Canavalia''
taxa database. * {{Authority control Fabaceae genera Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Pantropical flora