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Canavalia cathartica
Also called Ground Jack Bean, Poisonous Sea Bean, Jackbean
Canavalia cathartica, commonly known as maunaloa in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. The Hawaiian name translates as long mountain. In English it may also be known as poisonous sea bean, ground jack bean, horse bean, silky sea bean or wild bean. It has a Paleotropical distribution, occurring throughout tropical regions in Asia, Africa, Australia, and many Pacific Islands, and extending just into subtropical areas. It is not native to Hawaii, and is an invasive species there.
In India this plant grows in mangroves. The seeds float on the water and land on coastal sand dunes, where the plant establishes. It is mat-forming and binds the sand, preventing erosion.
The seeds and pods are used as famine foods in coastal India. It is considered to be an underutilized wild plant with the potential to serve as a protein- and carbohydrate-rich food crop. It has more protein than several other edible legumes such as pigeon pea, chickpea, and cowpea. It grows rapidly, tolerates challenging habitat types such as dry, sandy, saline soils, and appears to be fairly pest-resistant.
Wonderbean · Sword jackbean · Puakauhi · Molokai jackbean · Makaha Valley jackbean · Lavafield jackbean · Baybean · Jackbean
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Canavalia cathartica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
