Lablab Purpureus 10 Seeds, Hyacinth Bean, Dolichos Vine

Lablab Purpureus
Also known as: Hyacinth Bean, Indian bean, Dolichos lablab

Here is an ornamental twining vine with handsome, purple-tinged, trifoliate leaves. It rapidly grows to 20' and will easily cover a trellis in a single season. Spikes of fragrant pea-like bright rose-purple flowers (sometimes white or pink) are followed in late summer by flat, glossy, ruby-purple seed pods (to 6” long). This is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae and it can fix nitrogen. Young immature pods can be cooked and eaten. These plants are widely grown in northern Africa and parts of Asia as a vegetable crop for the flowers, leaves, immature seeds and edible pods. Mature, dried seeds are toxic due to high levels of cyanogenic glucosides and should be boiled in two changes of water before eating to remove the toxins. Given a sunny location, it will bloom continuously throughout the summer and attract hummingbirds and deer. Overall it is low maintenance and great for covering walls, trellises or fences and also makes an effective ground cover. It can be container grown.
It is a tender perennial that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11 where it may be left in the ground year-round. In colder regions it is grown as an annual vine. It is easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Collect seed in fall for planting the following year.
It is a fodder legume sown for grazing and conservation in broad-acre agricultural systems in tropical environments with a summer rainfall. Also used as green manure, cover crop and as a concentrate feed.

For medicinal purposes this species has been used in the Philippines and China as a stimulant, to reduce fever, to reduce flatulence, to stimulate digestion, and as an antispasmodic. In Namibia, the root has been used to treat heart conditions. The plant (though the exact part used is not stipulated) is anticholesterolemic, antidote (to most forms of poison), antivinous, carminative, hypoglycaemic. It is used in the treatment of cholera, leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, alcoholic intoxication and globefish poisoning. The fully mature seeds are anthelmintic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, astringent, digestive, febrifuge and stomachic. They are used in the treatment of sunstroke, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, enteritis, abdominal pain, and arsenism to name a few. As always consult a professional before self medicating.

This offer is for 10 seeds.