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Habitats
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Cultivated Beds;
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Edible Uses
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Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Root; Seed; Seedpod.
Edible Uses:
The mature seed is edible as long as it is thoroughly cooked[2, 27, 33, 34, 74, 171]. It has a mild flavour, is rich in protein and can be used as a staple food. The seed can also be prepared as 'tofu' or be fermented into 'tempeh' in the same way that soya beans are used in Japan[183]. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw, when it is comparable to mung bean sprouts[179, 183]. A nutritional analysis is available[218]. The tender young seedpods and immature seeds can be eaten raw or cooked. They can be used as a green vegetable like French beans[46, 74, 114]. They are also used as a curry vegetable[183]. The immature seedpod contains 3.2% protein, 0.8% fat, 5.4% carbohydrate, 0.81% ash. It is rich in vitamin B1[179]. Leaves - they must be cooked[160, 179]. They can also be dried for later use[183]. The leaves are used as a greens just like spinach[183]. They contain up to 28% protein[160] (dry weight?). Flowers - raw or cooked in soups and stews[183]. Root - large and starchy[183].
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Composition
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Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.
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Seed (Fresh weight)
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- 334 Calories per 100g
- Water : 12.1%
- Protein: 21.5g; Fat: 1.2g; Carbohydrate: 61.4g; Fibre: 6.8g; Ash: 3.8g;
- Minerals - Calcium: 98mg; Phosphorus: 345mg; Iron: 3.9mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
- Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
- Reference: [ 218]
- Notes:
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Medicinal Uses
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Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Anthelmintic; Anticholesterolemic; Antidote; Antispasmodic; Antivinous; Aphrodisiac; Astringent; Carminative; Digestive; Febrifuge; Hypoglycaemic;
Miscellany; Stomachic.
The plant (though the exact part used is not stipulated) is anticholesterolemic, antidote (to most forms of poison), antivinous, carminative, hypoglycaemic. Prolongs co-agulation time[147, 176, 178]. It is used in the treatment of cholera, vomiting, diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, alcoholic intoxication and globefish poisoning[147]. The flowers are antivinous, alexiteric and carminative[218]. The stem is used in the treatment of cholera[218]. The juice from the pods is used to treat inflamed ears and throats[218]. The fully mature seeds are anthelmintic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, astringent, digestive, febrifuge and stomachic[218, 240, 283]. They are used in the treatment of sunstroke, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, enteritis, abdominal pain, alcoholism and arsenism[283]. The seed is well dried and then roasted before use[283].
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Other Uses
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Green manure; Miscellany.
Plants are fairly fast growing and the bacteria on the roots enrich the soil with nitrogen. This makes them a good green manure crop, though they are only really suitable for climates warmer than Britain[46, 61].
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Cultivation details
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Easily grown in an ordinary garden soil so long as the temperature is sufficient[1]. Succeeds in relatively poor soils so long as they are well-drained[206]. Plants grow best at temperatures between 28 - 30°c though they tolerate mean temperatures as low as 9°c[206]. Prefers a rich moist soil in a warm sheltered position[175]. Prefers a well-drained soil with a high organic matter content and a pH between 5.5 and 6[200]. Some varieties are drought resistant[200]. A perennial species[142], it is not cold-hardy in Britain, though it is occasionally grown as an annual in the ornamental garden[27, 33]. It requires a minimum temperature of 7 - 10°c if it is to survive winter conditions[200]. The hyacinth bean is commonly cultivated in warm temperate and tropical climates for its edible seed, there are many named varieties[183, 200] varying in height from 60cm to 2 metres. Short-day, long-day and daylength-neutral varieties are available, you should use day-length-neutral or long-day varieties in northern latitudes[200]. Plants are fairly fast-growing, young pods are ready to harvest from 70 - 120 days after sowing[200]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].
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Propagation
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Seed - pre-soak for 2 hours in warm water and sow in early spring in a greenhouse in a fairly rich soil[33, 175]. Either sow 2 seeds to a pot and thin to the strongest plant, or sow in a tray and prick out into individual pots when the plants are large enough to handle. Grow on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts. The seed germinates in 2 - 4 weeks at 25°c.
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 You can download this page as a PDF
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Links / References
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[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
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Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
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[2]Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
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Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
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[27]Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden.
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A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
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[33]Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table.
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Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
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[34]Harrison. S. Wallis. M. Masefield. G. The Oxford Book of Food Plants.
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Good drawings of some of the more common food plants from around the world. Not much information though.
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[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
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An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
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[61]Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man.
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Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
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[74]Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR.
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An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
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[114]Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq.
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It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.
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[142]Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man.
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Readable but not very comprehensive.
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[147]? A Barefoot Doctors Manual.
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A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
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[160]Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987.
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Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
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[171]Hill. A. F. Economic Botany.
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Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
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[175]Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed')
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Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
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[176]Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas.
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An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
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[178]Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica.
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A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
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[179]Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao.
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A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
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[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
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Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
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[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
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Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
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[206]Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables
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Well written and very informative.
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[218]Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China
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Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
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[240]Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement).
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Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
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[283]Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu Medicinal Plants in Vietnam
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An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications.
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Subject : Lablab purpureus
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