Winged bean

Sleeves of the Goa bean ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus )

The Goa bean ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus ), also known as blades bean, is a useful plant in the subfamily of the Fabaceae ( Faboideae ) from the legume family ( Fabaceae or Leguminosae).

Description

The goa bean is a richly branched, left twining, perennial, herbaceous plant. However, it is usually grown as an annual plant. The roots form tubers as storage organs. The leaves are pinnate three parts. The partial leaves are slightly oblique ovate, 5-14 cm long and 3-9 cm broad, acuminate, entire or sometimes lobed.

Only occasionally the flowers are single, usually they are axillary to 2 to 10 cm long inflorescence stems in dense racemose inflorescences. The zygomorphe flower is relatively large with a length of 2 to 5 cm. The crown is yellow - pink or purple. The flag is usually upright and 2.5 cm wide.

The legumes are 10 to 20 cm long, along the seams are two wavy shaped wings with a width of about 5 mm. The legumes contain between five and 20, to a maximum of 40 seeds. The round-to- oval seeds have a diameter 7-8 mm. The hilum is bright to off-white with a dark edge.

Occurrence

Natural occurrence of the Goa bean are unknown, their origin is suspected in Asia, on the Mascarene Islands or Madagascar. In cultivation this species is widespread.

Use

The plant parts are used in many ways, both the young fruits that mature seeds as well as the underground tubers are edible. From the seeds fatty acids are obtained. 100 grams of dried Goabohnen included in their share of 16 g fat on average 3.3 g saturated, 5.8 g monounsaturated and 3.7 g of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The oil of the seeds is used inter alia for the manufacture of soap. The seeds have a high nutritional value, which can be compared approximately with the soybean.

 

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