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GREEN-Seeds.com
vegetables & herbs
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Leguminosae, Hyacinth Bean
Hyacinth Bean, Egyptian Kidney Bean; Bian Dou; Kachang Sepat, Kachang
Kara, (M); Motchai, (T).
Dolichos Lablab L. (Leguminosae)
Description
Egyptian Kidney Bean
A vigorous, twining annual vine with trifoliate leaves and white, reddish
or green beans. "Lablab" is an Arabic or Egyptian name describing the
dull rattle of the seeds inside the dry pod. Pods are usually oblong,
flattened, curved with wavy margins and about 5-8 cm long. One variety
has purplish green young pods which are narrow and bulging on both sides.
The most popular strains have purple tinting at the margins. Others have
green or dark purple pods.
Origin
The species is cultivated in India, China and tropical Africa. It is wild
in India and also in Java, becoming naturalised in cultivation. From India,
it was introduced to China, Western Asia and Egypt during ancient times.
Uses
The immature pods are boiled and eaten as a vegetable. It is a favourite
with Malays and Indians, being considered the best kind of bean pods eaten
with curry. Ripe seeds are eaten in India and China as a split pulse.
Lablab beans cannot be eaten raw because they contain a poisonous glycoside
that is destroyed upon boiling.
Notes
The third largest and most widespread family of flowering plants, second
only to the cereals as a source of food for man and his animals, the Leguminosae
is easily recognised by its pods or legumes which usually possess seeds
as the peas in a pod. Ripe, dry seeds contain high proportions of proteins
and vitamin B. Some like the peanuts and soybeans are also rich in oils.
Sprouts are palatable as well as being rich source of vitamin C replacing
the vitamin B lost during germination. They form a cheap, abundant and
easy-to-grow source of food.
Legumes are important also for the improvement of soil conditions because
their roots harbour bacteria which fix free nitrogen in the air in nodulated
structures thereby increasing soil fertility.
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Green - Seeds Co., Ltd.
81/10B Ho Van Hue Street, Phu Nhuan District, Ward 9, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 (8) 847 6901 - Fax: +84 (8) 844 1392 - Email: info@green-seeds.com
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