Canavalia cathartica

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Canavalia cathartica
Canavalia cathartica.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Canavalia
Species:
C. cathartica
Binomial name
Canavalia cathartica
Synonyms

Canavalia glandifolia
Canavalia microcarpa
Canavalia polystachya
Canavalia turgida
Canavalia virosa
Dolichos virosus
Lablab microcarpus
Phaseolus virosus

Contents

Canavalia cathartica, commonly known as maunaloa in the Hawaiian language, [1] [2] [3] [4] is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. The Hawaiian name translates as long mountain. [5] In English it may also be known as poisonous sea bean, [6] ground jack bean, horse bean, silky sea bean or wild bean. [1] It has a Paleotropical distribution, [2] occurring throughout tropical regions in Asia, Africa, Australia, and many Pacific Islands, and extending just into subtropical areas. [7] It is not native to Hawaii, and is an invasive species there. [8]

Description

This plant is a biennial [9] or perennial [2] herb with thick, twining, climbing stems. The pinnate leaves are each divided into three papery leaflets which are generally oval in shape with pointed or rounded tips. They are up to 20 centimeters long by 14 wide, but usually smaller. The inflorescence is a raceme [9] or pseudoraceme [2] of several flowers. The flower has a bell-shaped calyx of sepals with two lips, an upper lip with two lobes and a lower lip with three teeth. The flower corolla is pink or purplish [9] with a white-spotted standard petal and two wing and two keel petals each roughly 3 centimeters long. [2] The fruit is an inflated, turgid legume pod up to 13.5 centimeters long by 4.5 wide. [2] [9] The fresh, mature pod can weigh over 32 grams. [10] The hard, smooth seeds are reddish brown, darkening deeper brown, and reaching nearly 2 centimeters long by one wide. [2] [9]

Ecology

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. [10]

This legume has a rich microbial ecology, including its nodal rhizobia, its arbuscular mycorrhizae, and an assemblage of endophytic fungi. [10] Common arbuscular fungal associates include the glomeromycetes Gigaspora albida , Acaulospora spinosa , and several species of Glomus , including G. aggregatum . [10] Microbial surveys have catalogued many endophytes in the plant, with varying assemblages in different habitat types. It houses the ascomycete Chaetomium globosum in its roots. [10] It also contains Colletotrichum dematium , [10] Aspergillus niger , A. flavus , Fusarium oxysporum , and Penicillium chrysogenum . [4] The microbial life hosted by the plant likely helps it persist in harsh coastal habitat. [10]

Uses

The seeds and pods are used as famine foods in coastal India. [10] [11] It is considered to be an underutilized wild plant with the potential to serve as a protein- and carbohydrate-rich food crop. [10] It has more protein than several other edible legumes such as pigeon pea, chickpea, and cowpea. [11] It grows rapidly, tolerates challenging habitat types such as dry, sandy, saline soils, and appears to be fairly pest-resistant. [10]

Like many legumes, C. cathartica contains antinutrients and requires some processing or preparation before it can be used for food. Antinutrients in the species include phenols, tannins, and lectins such as phytohaemagglutinin. [11] Pressure cooking can reduce antinutrients. [11] Roasting is somewhat less effective. [12]

In small-scale agriculture, farmers use this plant as green manure and mulch and host it in their fields for its nitrogen fixation. It grows easily on farmland in mangrove wetlands, it native habitat. [4] It is used as cattle fodder. [11] The stems with pods and leaves are fed to rabbits and hares. [10] [11]

In numerous recent studies from India it is claimed that this species is the wild ancestor of Canavalia gladiata , referencing the 1974 third or paperback edition or the 1968 hardback edition of Tropical Crops: Dicotyledons by J. W. Purseglove, [10] where it mentions that C. virosa may be the ancestor of C. gladiata, [13] however this is likely in error, as with C. virosa in 1968 or 1974 one meant the modern C. africana using the then current taxonomy. [14] [15] [16] Sauer himself proposed C. gladiolata as the ancestor of C. gladiata in the afore-mentioned article. [14]

The plant grows in Micronesia, where the island inhabitants use it as an herbal remedy for conditions such as cough. [17]

In Hawaii, where it is a non-native and invasive species, its showy flowers and large seeds are used in leis. [18]

Related Research Articles

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A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world.

<i>Pachyrhizus</i> Genus of legumes

Pachyrhizus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes five or species of herbs and subshrubs native to the tropical and subtropical Americas, ranging from northern Mexico to northwestern Argentina. Typical habitat is seasonally-dry tropical forest and thicket, often at forest margins, in scrub vegetation, and in open grassy areas. Plants in the genus grow from large, often edible taproots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legume</span> Plant in the family Fabaceae

A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, grass peas, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.

<i>Crotalaria</i> Genus of legumes

Crotalaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of Crotalaria species, which are mainly found in damp grassland, especially in floodplains, depressions and along edges of swamps and rivers, but also in deciduous bush land, roadsides and fields. Some species of Crotalaria are grown as ornamentals. The common name rattlepod or rattlebox is derived from the fact that the seeds become loose in the pod as they mature, and rattle when the pod is shaken. The name derives from the Ancient Greek κρόταλον, meaning "castanet", and is the same root as the name for the rattlesnakes (Crotalus).

<i>Vigna</i> Genus of plants

Vigna is a genus of plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. It includes some well-known cultivated species, including many types of beans. Some are former members of the genus Phaseolus. According to Hortus Third, Vigna differs from Phaseolus in biochemistry and pollen structure, and in details of the style and stipules.

<i>Mucuna</i> Genus of plants

Mucuna is a genus of around 114 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winged bean</span> Species of legume plant

The winged bean, also known as cigarillas, goa bean, four-angled bean, four-cornered bean, manila bean, princess bean, star bean, kamrangi bean, pea, dragon bean, is a tropical herbaceous legume plant.

<i>Lablab</i> Species of plant

Lablab purpureus is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and India and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food. English language common names include hyacinth bean, lablab-beanbonavist bean/pea, dolichos bean, seim or sem bean, lablab bean, Egyptian kidney bean, Indian bean, bataw and Australian pea. Lablab is a monotypic genus.

<i>Vigna umbellata</i> Species of flowering plant

Vigna umbellata, previously Phaseolus calcaratus, is a warm-season annual vine legume with yellow flowers and small edible beans. It is commonly called ricebean or rice bean. To date, it is little known, little researched and little exploited. It is regarded as a minor food and fodder crop and is often grown as intercrop or mixed crop with maize, sorghum or cowpea, as well as a sole crop in the uplands, on a very limited area. Like the other Asiatic Vigna species, ricebean is a fairly short-lived warm-season annual. Grown mainly as a dried pulse, it is also important as a fodder, a green manure and a vegetable. Ricebean is most widely grown as an intercrop, particularly of maize, throughout Indo-China and extending into southern China, India, Nepal and Bangladesh. In the past it was widely grown as lowland crop on residual soil water after the harvest of long-season rice, but it has been displaced to a great extent where shorter duration rice varieties are grown. Ricebean grows well on a range of soils. It establishes rapidly and has the potential to produce large amounts of nutritious animal fodder and high quality grain.

<i>Pongamia</i> Species of tree in the family Fabaceae

Pongamia pinnata is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to eastern and tropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. It is the sole species in genus Pongamia. It is often known by the synonym Millettia pinnata. Its common names include Indian beech and Pongame oiltree.

<i>Canavalia</i> Genus of legumes

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

<i>Canavalia gladiata</i> Species of flowering plant

Canavalia gladiata, the sword bean or scimitar bean, is a domesticated plant species in the legume family Fabaceae. It is used as a vegetable in interior central and south central India, though not commercially farmed. The unripe pods are also eaten as a vegetable in Africa and Asia.

<i>Erythrina fusca</i> Species of legume

Erythrina fusca is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is known by many common names, including purple coraltree, gallito, bois immortelle, bucayo, and the more ambiguous "bucare" and "coral bean". E. fusca has the widest distribution of any Erythrina species; it is the only one found in both the New and Old World. It grows on coasts and along rivers in tropical Asia, Oceania, the Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, Africa, and the Neotropics.

<i>Canavalia ensiformis</i> Species of legume

Canavalia ensiformis is a legume which is used for animal fodder and human nutrition, especially in Brazil where it is called feijão-de-porco. It is also the source of concanavalin A.

<i>Canavalia rosea</i> Species of legume

Canavalia rosea is a species of flowering plant of the genus Canavalia in the pea family of Fabaceae, it has a pantropical and subtropical distribution in upper beaches, cliffs, and dunes. Common names include beach bean, bay bean, sea bean, greater sea bean, seaside jack-bean, coastal jack-bean, and MacKenzie bean.

<i>Dipteryx alata</i> Species of legume

Dipteryx alata is a large, undomesticated, edible nut-bearing tree from dryish tropical lowlands in central South America belonging to the legume family, Fabaceae, from the Dipterygeae tribe in the Faboideae subfamily. It is a wild species, widespread across the Cerrado savanna in South America. The baru nut seed is a grain legume, growing in popularity in North America as a snack food.

<i>Vicia menziesii</i> Species of legume

Vicia menziesii is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Hawaiian vetch. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Hawaii. It is threatened by habitat loss and exotic plants. It has been federally listed as an endangered species of the United States since 1978. It was the first Hawaiian plant to be placed on the Endangered Species List.

<i>Strophostyles helvola</i> Species of legume

Strophostyles helvola, commonly called amberique-bean, annual sand bean, or trailing fuzzybean is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States.

<i>Alysicarpus vaginalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the legume family

Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.

References

  1. 1 2 Quattrocchi, Umberto; 2012; CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology; Vol.1; Page 773; CRC Press; ISBN   9781420080445; https://books.google.nl/books?id=-37OBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA773&lpg=PA773&dq=Poisonous+sea+bean+canavalia&source=bl&ots=8hGDup1lY_&sig=9dguWluPq0n4NJFDw0DdqzLmH1I&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Canavalia cathartica. Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
  3. ↑ Canavalia cathartica. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  4. 1 2 3 Anita, D. D. and K. R. Sridhar. (2009). Assemblage and diversity of fungi associated with mangrove wild legume Canavalia cathartica. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems 10(2), 225-35.
  5. ↑ en.wiktionary.org https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/loa; . Retrieved 14 October 2017.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[ title missing ]
  6. ↑ "Poisonous sea bean (Canavalia cathartica) on the Shores of Singapore". www.wildsingapore.com. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Canavalia cathartica". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Maunaloa, Canavalia cathartica Fabales: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)". www.invasive.org. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Canavalia cathartica. Flora of China.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Seena, S. and K. R. Sridhar. (2006). Nutritional and microbiological features of little known legumes, Canavalia cathartica Thouars and C. maritima Thouars of the southwest coast of India. Current Science 90(12), 1638-50.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bhagya, B., et al. (2006). Biochemical and protein quality evaluation of tender pods of wild legume Canavalia cathartica of coastal sand dunes. Livestock Research for Rural Development 18, 1-20.
  12. ↑ Seena, S., et al. (2006). Effect of roasting and pressure-cooking on nutritional and protein quality of seeds of mangrove legume Canavalia cathartica from southwest coast of India. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 19(4), 284-93.
  13. ↑ Purseglove, J.W.; 1974; Tropical Crops : Dicotyledons (3rd ed.), pp.242-246; Longman; London; ISBN   978-0470702512
  14. 1 2 Sauer, Jonathan D.; 1964; Revision of Canavalia; Brittonia, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp.106-181; NYBG Press; New York; accessed at https://documentslide.com/documents/revision-of-canavalia.html
  15. ↑ Verdcourt, Bernard; 1971; Flora of Tropical East Africa, Leguminosae (4), Papilionoideae, pp.573-574
  16. ↑ Verdcourt, Bernard; 1987; Three Corrections to the Flora of Tropical East Africa; Kew Bulletin, Vol. 42, No. 3; pp.658-660; Springer; Dordrecht; accessed at https://docslide.com.br/documents/three-corrections-to-the-flora-of-tropical-east-africa.html
  17. ↑ Canavalia cathartica – Fabaceae. Archived 2013-08-29 at archive.today People and Plants of Micronesia. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
  18. ↑ Barboza, R. Climbing vine makes for beautiful lei. Honolulu Star-Bulletin 13(81) March 21, 2008.
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