Mucuna | |
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Mucuna gigantea flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Tribe: | Phaseoleae |
Genus: | Mucuna Adans. [1] |
Species | |
More than 110, see text. | |
Synonyms [2] [1] | |
Homotypic:
Heterotypic:
|
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. [2]
The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pea-like but larger, with distinctive curved petals, and occurring in racemes. Like other legumes, Mucuna plants bear pods. They are generally bat-pollinated and produce seeds that are buoyant sea-beans. These have a characteristic three-layered appearance, appearing like the eyes of a large mammal in some species and like a hamburger in others (most notably M. sloanei ) and giving rise to common names like deer-eye beans, donkey-eye beans, ox-eye beans, or hamburger seed.
The name of the genus is derived from mucunã, a Tupi–Guarani word for these species. [3]
Some Mucuna species are used as food plants by caterpillars of Lepidoptera. These include Morpho butterflies and the two-barred flasher ( Astraptes fulgerator ), which is sometimes found on M. holtonii and perhaps others. The plant pathogenic fungus Mycosphaerella mucunae is named for being first discovered on Mucuna.
The pods of some species are covered in coarse hairs that contain the proteolytic enzyme mucunain and cause itchy blisters when they come in contact with skin; specific epithets such as pruriens (Latin: "itching") or urens (Latinized Ancient Greek: "stinging like a nettle") refer to this. Other parts of the plant have medicinal properties. The plants or their extracts are sold in herbalism against a range of conditions, such as urinary tract, neurological, and menstruation disorders, constipation, edema, fevers, tuberculosis, and helminthiases such as elephantiasis. [4] In an experiment to test if M. pruriens might have an effect on the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, Katzenschlager et al. found that a seed powder had a comparable, if not more favourable, effect as commercial formulations of L-dopa, although the trial only consisted of four people per test group. [5]
M. pruriens was found to increase phosphorus availability after application of rock phosphate in one Nigerian experiment. [6] M. pruriens was used in Native American milpa agriculture.[ citation needed ]
Mucuna seeds contain a large number of antinutritional compounds. The most important is L-dopa, which the digestive system of most animals confuses with the amino acid tyrosine, causing the production of defective proteins. Other antinutrients are tannins, lectins, phytic acid, cyanogenic glycosides, and trypsin and amylase inhibitors, although all these can be removed by long cooking. [7] M. pruriens may also contain chemicals such as serotonin, 5-HTP, nicotine, and the hallucinogenic tryptamines 5-MeO-DMT, bufotenine and dimethyltryptamine, [7] [8] [ verification needed ]Mucuna is not traditionally consumed as a food crop, but some preliminary experiments have shown that if the antinutrients are removed or at least brought down to safe level, the beans can be fed to livestock or people. The L-dopa content is the most important and difficult toxin to get rid of. The seeds must be extensively processed before they can be safely eaten. Diallo & Berhe found the best method was to crack open the seeds and soak them in constantly running fresh water such as under an open faucet for 36 hours, or to put them in a bag and leave in a flowing river for 72 hours, before cooking them for over an hour. Over a thousand people in the Republic of Guinea were fed a meal of Mucuna (mixed with many other ingredients) with no obvious ill effects. [9]
Plants of the World Online currently (2023) includes: [2]
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.
Cissus is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics.
The plant tribe Phaseoleae is one of the subdivisions of the legume subfamily Faboideae, in the unranked NPAAA clade. This group includes many of the beans cultivated for human and animal food, most importantly from the genera Glycine, Phaseolus, and Vigna.
Hymenaea is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. Of the fourteen living species in the genus, all but one are native to the tropics of the Americas, with one additional species on the east coast of Africa. Some authors place the African species in a separate monotypic genus, Trachylobium. In the Neotropics, Hymenaea is distributed through the Caribbean islands, and from southern Mexico to Brazil. Linnaeus named the genus in 1753 in Species Plantarum for Hymenaios, the Greek god of marriage ceremonies. The name is a reference to the paired leaflets.
Mucuna pruriens is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean.
Leea is a genus of plants in the family Vitaceae, subfamily Leeoideae, that are native to parts of central Africa, tropical Asia, Australia and Melanesia. It was previously placed in its own family, Leeaceae, based on morphological differences between it and other Vitaceae genera. These differences include ovule number per locule, carpel number, and the absence or presence of a staminoidal tube and floral disc. Pollen structure has also been examined for taxonomic demarcation, though studies have concluded that the pollen of Leeaceae and Vitaceae suggests the families should remain separate while other studies conclude that Leea should be included in Vitaceae.
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.
Fagraea is a genus of plants in the family Gentianaceae. It includes trees, shrubs, lianas, and epiphytes. They can be found in forests, swamps, and other habitat in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, with the center of diversity in Malesia.
Entada is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It consists of some 30 species of trees, shrubs and tropical lianas. About 21 species are known from Africa, six from Asia, two from the American tropics and one with a pantropical distribution. They have compound leaves and produce exceptionally large seedpods of up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long. Their seeds are buoyant and survive lengthy journeys via rivers and ocean currents, to eventually wash up on tropical beaches.
Ehretia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 50 species. The generic name honors German botanical illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708–1770).
Muellera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 32 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae.
Deguelia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It includes ten species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Nicaragua to Bolivia and southeastern Brazil.
Brachypterum is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family (Fabaceae). It includes eleven species, which range from the Indian Subcontinent through Indochina, southern China, Malesia, New Guinea, and eastern Australia.
Mucuna gigantea is a species of large woody climber from the family Fabaceae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, India, tropical southern Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea and parts of Australia, and is commonly known as sea bean or burny bean.
Mucuna paniculata is a species of flowering, woody vine in the family Fabaceae, the bean family. It is native to northern Madagascar where it is locally known in Malagasy as vohinkovika. It flowers between June and August.