Canavalia ensiformis

Jack bean ( Canavalia ensiformis ) with mature legume

The jack bean ( Canavalia ensiformis ), also called Madagascar giant bean or bean, is a species in the subfamily Fabaceae ( Faboideae ) within the legume family ( Fabaceae or Leguminosae). It is closely related with a number of other " beans " called crops, especially for sword bean. The jack bean is one originating from the Caribbean and from Central or South America, for more than 2000 years grown in the New World crop.

Description

Appearance and leaf

The jack bean is a short-lived perennial herbaceous plant or shrub, reaching heights of growth from 0.60 to 1.60 meters. It is usually grown as an annual plant. The low -lying, semi- erect, erect or climbing stem axis reach lengths of 2 to 3 meters and branch out well; older Stems can become woody something. The strong root system extends relatively deep into the ground, making a long taproot. The aboveground plant parts are pubescent or verkahlen. Germination is epigeal. The first true leaves are fully developed about a week after sowing.

The alternate on the stem are arranged distributed leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The petiole is 10 to 15 inches inches long. The Blattrhachis is 3 to 4.5 inches long. The unpaired pinnate leaf blade consists of three pinnate leaves. The leaflets are stalked 4-7 mm long. The herbaceous leaflets are ovate or elliptic with rounded or wedge- shaped base and a pointed or rounded with a spiked tip top at a length of 5 to 20 centimeters and a width of 3 to 12 inches. Both side of the leaflets are sparsely short pubescent or glabrous. The Fiedernervatur consists of six to seven pairs of lateral veins raised and also the Netznervatur be seen. The small stipules fall off early.

Inflorescence and flower

The flowering time is in China from May to July. Appear depending on the location, the first flowers 50 to 110 days after sowing. In the leaf axils is a 10 to 35 inches long inflorescence stem. In a up to 20 centimeters long racemose inflorescence are available at the thickened nodes ( nodes present ) the inflorescence axis for one to five flowers together; total 10 to 30, sometimes of up to 50 flowers in an inflorescence. The cover sheets are two millimeters long and ends blunt. The flower stem is 2 to 5 millimeters long.

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig double perianth. The five scantily fluffy hairy sepals are fused together into an approximately 1.5 centimeters long bell-shaped cup double lip. The truncated upper lip of the calyx is longer than the calyx tube and the lower lip has three triangular calyx teeth. The approximately 2.7 inches long corolla has the typical structure of Schmetterlingsblütlers. The five petals are sometimes white, mostly light purple to purple. The flag is rounded with a diameter of about 2.2 inches and has two almost circular, curved ears back and about 5 millimeters long, flat and relatively broad nail. The wings are obovate - oblong. The boat is auriculate and nailed. The ten fertile stamens are all grown. The only short and thin -stalked, upper permanent carpel contains many ovules. The inwardly bent stylus terminating in a small scar.

Fruit and seeds

The legumes mature in China in October. The somewhat flattened, slightly curved, relatively thick legumes are at a length of 15 to 30 centimeters and a width from 2.5 to 4 centimeters in outline linear -oblong and running at both ends of a point. Each thick leathery fruit flap fitted at the ventral suture a raised rib parallel and close to an extra 5 millimeters wide rib. The initially green and fluffy hairy legumes verkahlen later and are mostly ivory white at maturity. Each legume containing 8 to 20 seeds.

The approximately 21 mm × 15 mm × 10 mm large seeds are elliptic to oblong flattened and laterally. The seed coat is ivory or white. The usually 6 to 9, more than 15 millimeters long, oval and gray hilum is fed brown edged and easily; it covers about a quarter of the seed. The thousand grain weight is between 1300 and 1800 g

Set of chromosomes

The basic chromosome number is x = 11; it lies in front of diploidy, ie 2n = 22

Ecology

If the appropriate rhizobia strains are present, the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules is very good.

The flowers are mainly self-fertile. Sometimes Pollination is by insects. Only the lower flowers of the inflorescence form from fruit.

Ingredients

Leguminous plants in the green, and especially in the seed, the content of crude protein is very high. As feed and human food, the jack bean is particularly interesting because of their high content of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The hay contains much crude protein and has a reasonably good digestibility 56-59 %. The fairly good protein quality has to do with the lysine content of 5.1 %.

The following amino acid composition in g per 16 g N was determined ( = % in crude protein ): 3.7 alanine, isoleucine ( essential ) 3.5, proline 3.6, arginine 4.5, leucine ( essential ) 3.5, serine 4.3, 9.0 aspartic acid, lysine ( essential ) 5.1, threonine ( essential ) 3.9, 9.1 glutamic acid, methionine ( essential ) 1.0, tyrosine 3.1, 3.3 glycine, phenylalanine ( essential ) 4.0, valine ( essential ) 4.0, histidine 2.4.

In plants, parts of the jack bean saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, terpenoids, alkaloids and tannins are included. These toxins must be washed before consumption by properly soaking and cooking. The seeds contain the thermolabile toxins concanavalin A and B; they come in the dry seed from 2.5 to 3.0%. Concanavalin A lectin is a trypsin inhibitor. Canavanine are toxic to bacteria, insects and other invertebrates. Canavanine be incorporated into proteins, then lose their function. Canavanine is not toxic to vertebrates, which have a specific arginyl - t-RNA synthase and therefore do not form Canavanyl proteins. In addition to the concanavalin A ureases are particularly disadvantageous in the mixture of toxins. Through these toxins, the plant parts are highly resistant to plant diseases and pests.

Use

The legumes and seeds are eaten. Canavalia ensiformis is used for green manure, used as a ground cover and as cattle feed.

As required, the green matter will be cut and fed, but it must be noted that toxins may be present. The yields of green mass and feed between 20 and 60 tons per hectare.

The grain yields can vary greatly, depending on growing conditions, the specifications range from 7 to 10, given 20 to 25 or even 50 quintals per hectare. It is a very productive plant. Young legumes and immature seeds are cooked as a vegetable. 80 to 120 days after sowing green legumes can be harvested and mature seeds are harvested after 180 to 300 days.

In Indonesia flowers and young leaves are used as food ingredients.

The ripe seeds have to watering, by prolonged heating and cooking of toxins are (mainly concanavalin A) free, often is also the seed coat while away. The cooked seeds has little taste and a coarse, mealy texture and is therefore usually not appreciated. Need to be decontaminated even in the use of seeds in animal feed.

In Indonesia, roasted jack bean seeds are used as a coffee substitute.

As a medicinal plant, the jack bean is probably not used in conventional medicine. There are studies according to which the Trigonelline and Canavanine contained could act against cancer. In folk medicine, the jack bean but is employed. In Indonesia and China heat-treated seeds and legumes are used medicinally. In Nigeria, jack bean seeds are used as an antibiotic and antiseptic.

The Canavalin A has already been used for the separation of blood group substances ( immuno- globulins and glycoproteins ) and can get a meaning in medical analysis. The urease extract of jack bean is used in analytical laboratories.

The jack bean plant is a good ground cover and is used as protection against erosion or mulch in plantations.

Plant diseases

The jack bean is attacked only slightly from plant diseases. A root disease and stem borer cause significant yield losses. The leaf beetles ( Chrysomelidae ) Platiprosopus acutangulus can eat through the leaves significant problems in young plant canopies cause. The seeds are hardly attacked by pests or stock - borne illnesses, only Tricorinus tabaci prepares sometimes problems.

Origin, distribution and culture conditions

The original home of the Jack bean is located on Caribbean islands and in Central or South America. It was cultivated by the indigenous people of the New World for millennia. There are data from 2000 to 3000 year old grain discoveries that have been made of Arizona over Mexico to southern Brazil and Peru and on Caribbean islands, the jack bean is a long time in culture. So today's growing region extends in the Neotropics from the southern United States via Central America and Caribbean Islands to South America. Since the 19th century there is a cultivation of the jack bean, for example, in Indonesia, Taiwan, Hawaii, India, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Australia. She was later introduced in other areas of Asia. It is grown in southern Arabia, East Africa, Southern Africa and Madagascar, and less common in West Africa.

The jack bean cope with different climates. It thrives at temperatures 14-28 ° C. Thus, they can be well cultivated in tropical areas at altitudes of about 1800 meters. Do the plants survived the period of youth, they continue week-long drought through its deep root system. The jack bean to cope with annual rainfall 650-4300 mm, the optimum should be at 900 to 1200 mm of rainfall during the growing season. The jack bean can be grown on very different tropical soils. It thrives best at pH 5-6 and tolerates acidic to alkaline soils with pH 4.5 to 8.0.

Although the jack bean can run wild in the tropics and subtropics, it is not considered dangerous invasive plant.

Taxonomy

The first publication was in 1753 under the name ( basionym ) Dolichos ensiformis by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2, pp. 725-726. The recombination Canavalia ensiformis to (L. ) DC. 1825 by DC. published in Prodromus systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, Volume 2, page 404. Other synonyms for Canavalia ensiformis (L. ) DC. are: Canavalia ensiformis var albida DC, Canavalia ensiformis var truncata Ricker, Canavalia gladiata ( Jacq. ) DC, Canavalia gladiata f leucocarpa Deaf, Canavalia gladiata var leucosperma Voigt, Canavalia incurva ( Thunb. ) DC. .. . Canavalia loureiroi G.Don, Dolichos Jacq acinaciformis. , Dolichos ensiformis Thunb., Dolichos Jacq gladiatus. , Dolichos pugioniformis noise. , Malocchia ensiformis (L.) Savi.

Trivial names

Trivial names in other languages ​​:

• English: Jack bean, bean Sword, Giant -bean stock, Wonder bean, Gotani -bean, horse -bean, jack -bean, seaside -bean, sword -bean, wonder- bean
• French: Haricot saber, Pois saber, saber à grain haricot blanc, Fève Jacques, haricot de Madagascar, pois gogane
• Spanish: Frijol de Bibijagua (Cuba), Frijol de sable, Frijol espada, Judía sable, Haba de burro, criolla Haba, Haba blanca (Mexico), Haba de caballo (Mexico )
• Portuguese: feijão espada, fava - branca (Brazil), feijão - bravo (Brazil), feijão -de- cobra (Brazil), feijão -de- porco (Brazil), feijão -de- quebranto (Brazil), Mangolo (Brazil )
• Swedish: jackböna
• Danish: Jackbønne
• Dutch: Kara bendo, Zwaardboon
• Arabic: Fâsûlyâ seyfîyah
• Chinese: Yang dao dou, dou Since dao ( Name in Chinese medicine ), Dao dou, Bai dao dou,直 生 刀豆sheng zhi dao dou
• Japanese:タチナタマメTachi nata mame, mame Shiro nata, nata Tsurunachi mame
• Malaysian: Kacang parang, parang kacang putih
• Sundanese: kara bedog, kacang Mekah
• Vietnamese: ( cây ) Dau ra, Dau Tay, Dau Ngua
• Lao: thwâx fak ph'aaz
• Thai: thua khaek
• Khmer: tiehs
• Hindi: Bara Sem, Sem Jangli, Sufed Kadsumbal
• Sinh: Awara, Bu - wal- awara, Wal- awara
• Estonian: Mõõkjas kanavaalia
• Korean: jagdukong
• Tagalog: habas
• Visaya: lagaylay
• Ilokano: Badang - Badang
• Afrikaans: swaardboontjie
• Kikongo: kijimanu, nsimanje ou nsimana. Kimbundu: kanza -ka- mulende, kasa - kambole

Culture

In West Africa, the jack bean magical powers are ascribed.