Canavalia

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Canavalia
Canavalia sericea.jpg
Canavalia sericea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Diocleae
Genus: Canavalia
DC. [1]
Species [1]

62; see text

Synonyms [1]
  • CanavaliAdans. (1763), nom. rej.
  • ClementeaCav. (1804)
  • CryptophaeseolusKuntze (1891)
  • MalocchiaSavi (1824)
  • WenderothiaSchltdl. (1838)

Canavalia is a genus of plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) that comprises approximately 62 species of tropical vines. [1] Members of the genus are commonly known as jack-beans. It has a pantropical distribution. [1]

Contents

The species of Canavalia endemic to the Hawaiian Islands were named ʻāwikiwiki by the Native Hawaiians. The name translates to "the very quick one" [2] 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". [3]

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- and pathogen-suppressing living mulch. [4] The common jack-bean is also a source of the lectin concanavalin A, which is used as a reagent in glycoprotein biochemistry and immunology. The jack-bean is also a common source of purified urease enzyme used in scientific research.

The bay bean ( Canavalia rosea ) is supposedly mildly psychoactive when smoked, and is used in tobacco substitutes.

Ecology

Some animals have adaptations to the defensive chemicals of jack-beans. Caterpillars such as that of the two-barred flasher (Astraptes fulgerator) are sometimes found on Canavalia. The plant pathogenic ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella canavaliae was described from a jack-bean. Introduced herbivores have wreaked havoc on Canavalia on the Hawaiian Islands and made some nearly extinct; it may be that these lost their chemical defenses because no herbivorous mammals existed in their range until introduced by humans. The usually bright pea-flowers are pollinated by insects such as solitary bees and carpenter bees such as Xylocopa confusa .

History

The genus name Canavalia was, as recently as 1913, known as Canavali. [5] The name of the genus comes from a common name for Canavalia rosea used in India and adapted by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. [6]

Diversity

Canavalia cathartica illustration. Francisco Manuel Blanco, Flora de Filipinas, etc. (1880-1883) Canavalia cathartica Blanco2.319.png
Canavalia cathartica illustration. Francisco Manuel Blanco, Flora de Filipinas, etc. (1880–1883)
Canavalia lineata Canavalia lineata (sagar-abai) in Kawal WS, AP W2 IMG 2205.jpg
Canavalia lineata

Species include: [7]

Formerly placed here

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Canavalia DC. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Pukui, M. K., et al. (1992): New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian. University of Hawaii PRess, Honolulu. ISBN   0-8248-1392-8
  3. ↑ Austin, D. F. (2004). Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press. p. 161. ISBN   978-0-8493-2332-4.
  4. ↑ Caamal-Maldonado, J. A.; et al. (2001). "The use of allelopathic legume cover and mulch species for weed control in cropping systems". Agronomy Journal. 93 (1): 27–36. Bibcode:2001AgrJ...93...27C. doi:10.2134/agronj2001.93127x. Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  5. ↑ Piper, C. V. 1913. "The Jack Bean and the Sword Bean." USDA Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular. No. 110. p. 29-36
  6. ↑ Sauer, Jonathan (1964). "Revision of Canavalia". Brittonia. 16 (2): 113. Bibcode:1964Britt..16..106S. doi:10.2307/2805094. JSTOR   2805094.
  7. ↑ Genus Canavalia. Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS). Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  8. 1 2 "GRIN Species Records of Canavalia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ʻawikiwiki, puakauhi". Hawaiian Ethnobotany Database. Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  10. ↑ "Canavalia galeata". Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa . Retrieved 2009-03-26.
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