Hyacinth Bean seed Lablab purpureus seeds
LATIN NAME: Lablab purpureus
COMMON NAME: Hyacinth Bean
Hyacinth bean is the fast, twining, generous climber of the warm garden, and it covers a trellis or a fence with the broad, heart-shaped leaves and the long racemes of the small, purple or white, pea-like flowers. The glossy, purple-magenta pods follow the flowers and hang through the late summer, and the whole plant has a rich, ornamental look. It is a member of the legume family, so it also helps to feed the soil it grows in. It is a fine, easy plant for the warm, sunny wall and the trellis.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The hyacinth bean has a steady place in the plant science, and it has been studied as a traditional food legume and a useful cover crop. The edible young pods and the seeds, which have a long history of use in the warm-country kitchens, have been looked into, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the under-used legumes and the traditional foods. The nitrogen-fixing roots and the value of the plant as a green cover are also a regular subject of the agronomy research, and the ornamental breeding of the purple-flowered forms is documented in the horticultural journals. The information here is solid and well tested.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The hyacinth bean is grown for the table and for the looks. The young, tender pods are cooked and eaten like the green beans in the warm-country kitchens, and the mature seeds are a traditional food legume. The fast, twining vines cover the fences and the trellises with the fine foliage and the purple flowers, and the plant is a useful, nitrogen-feeding cover for the warm gardens. It has been written about in the horticultural and the food papers for its dual value as the food and the ornamental, and it is a generous, easy climber of the warm, sunny spot.
The hyacinth bean has been grown in the warm gardens of the east for a very long time, both for the table and for the looks. The young, tender pods are cooked and eaten like the green beans, and the mature seeds are a traditional food legume of the region. The purple-flowered form, with its glossy, magenta pods, is one of the most ornamental of the climbing beans, and it has been carried around the warm world as a fine garden plant. The nitrogen-feeding roots make it a useful plant for the warm mixed borders and the vegetable plot alike.
To grow the hyacinth bean from seed, soak the hard, bean-like seeds in warm water for a few hours, then sow them at a depth of a couple of centimetres in pots of moist, free-draining soil in the warm season. Keep the pots in a warm, bright, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings are up within a week or two and climb fast, so give them a trellis or a fence early. A sunny, sheltered spot with the ordinary garden soil is all they need, and the purple pods will follow through the late summer.
Hyacinth Bean has been grown in Asia for centuries, and is a familiar ornamental here in the U.S., vigorous and reliable. A true heirloom.
However, WHITE Hyacinth Bean is not so common. Long stems of snowy, fragrant blossoms pop against broad heart-shaped leaves and last for days Hummingbirds and butterflies love them. Profuse and fast-growing, it will cover a fence in a summer, and is an excellent nitrogen fixer. If you care to eat them, the beans must be cooked first.
White lablab is rare. It's an annual in most zones. Save seeds to plant next season.