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Macrotyloma uniflorum
Also called Madras Gram, Horse Gram
Horsegram is a drought-tolerant tropical legume grown mainly for its edible seeds and as fodder, and is also a climbing or trailing plant. It thrives in hot, seasonally dry conditions and needs well-drained soil, as it does not tolerate waterlogging.
Macrotyloma uniflorum (horsegram, also known as horse gram, kulthi bean, gahat, hurali, or Madras gram) is a legume native to tropical southern Asia. Known for its distinct taste and texture, its rich nutrients and reputed medicinal properties, it is widely used in many cuisines. It is also commonly grown for horse feed, hence the name "horse gram". Horse gram is grown in parts of India, Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies. Consumed whole, sprouted, or ground, it is also allowed to be eaten on some Hindu fasting days. Medical uses of these legumes are described in the Ayurveda.
Horse gram is drought tolerant and also withstands harsh environmental conditions such as salinity or metal stresses. Generally, Horse Gram is planted with low agronomic inputs and without weeding. Furthermore, the crop grows on a broad range of soil types with different pH ranges. Cultivation is also possible on soils with poor organic matter and nitrogen availability. Horse gram thrives where the temperature is in the range of 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F). Frost temperatures are lethal. Due to the drought-resistance Macrotyloma uniflorum is grown in areas with low precipitation (300–900 mm (12–35 in)). In wetter areas, Horse gram is usually sown at the end of the rainy season to still facilitate cultivation. Nonetheless, Macrotyloma uniflorum does not tolerate waterlogging.
The plant is not only cultivated as a monoculture, but also as an inter- or mixed crop together with groundnut, sorghum, sesame, Niger, maize, finger millet, pearl millet, amaranth, marvel grass or kidney bean.
Horse gram is native to tropical southern Asia and has been found in archaeological sites in India, starting from 2500 BC. The plant was probably first domesticated in India, and is now grown as a legume from India to Myanmar. Additionally, the crop is also grown for fodder and green manure in tropical countries in southeastern Asia and northern Australia. Generally, the major growing areas of Macrotyloma uniflorum are located in India, Africa and Australia.
Horse gram and moth bean are legumes of the tropics and subtropics, grown mostly under dry-land agriculture. The chemical composition is comparable with more commonly cultivated legumes. Like other legumes, these are deficient in methionine and tryptophan, though horse gram is an excellent source of iron and molybdenum. Comparatively, horse gram seeds have higher trypsin inhibitor and hemagglutinin activities and natural phenols than most bean seeds. Natural phenols are mostly phenolic acids, namely, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, caffeic, p-coumaric, ferulic, syringic and sinapic acids. Though both require prolonged cooking, a soak solution (1.5% NaHCO3 + 0.5% Na2CO3 + 0.75% citric acid) has been shown to reduce cooking time and improve protein quality.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Macrotyloma uniflorum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
