Everything about The Winged Bean totally explained
The
Winged bean (
Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), also known as the
Goa bean (
kacang botol in Malaysia), is a tropical
legume plant native to Papua
New Guinea. It grows abundantly in hot, humid
equatorial countries, from the
Philippines and
Indonesia to
India,
Burma and
Sri Lanka. It does well in humid tropics with high rainfall.
The winged bean plant grows as a vine with climbing stems and
leaves, 3-4 m in height. It is an
herbaceous
perennial, but can be grown as an
annual. It is generally taller and notably larger than the
Common bean. The bean pod is typically 15-22 cm (6-9 in) long and has four wings with frilly edges running lengthwise. The skin is waxy and the flesh partially translucent in the young pods. When the pod is fully ripe, it turns an ash-brown color and splits open to release the seeds. The large
flower is a pale blue. The beans themselves are similar to soybeans in both use and nutritional content (being 29.8% to 39% protein).
The plant is one of the best
nitrogen fixers with nodulation accomplished by the
soil bacterium
Rhizobium. Because of its ability to fix
nitrogen from the atmosphere, the plant requires very little or no
fertilizers.
Being a tropical plant, it's sensitive to frost. It won't flower if day length is more than 12 hours. The seeds have a hard coat and it helps to presoak the seeds before planting to hasten
germination. The plant grows very quickly, reaching a length of four meters in a few weeks.
Uses
This bean has been called the "one species supermarket" because practically all of the plant is edible. The beans are used as a
vegetable, but the other parts (leaves, flowers, and
tuberous roots) are also edible. The tender pods, which are the most widely eaten part of the plant, can be harvested within two to three months of planting. The flowers are often used to color
rice and pastries. The flavor of the beans has a similarity to
asparagus. The young leaves can be picked and prepared as a
leaf vegetable, similar to
spinach. The roots can be used as a
root vegetable, similar to the
potato, and have a nutty flavor; they're also much more rich in
protein than potatoes. The dried seeds can be useful as a
flour and also to make a
coffee-like drink. Each of these parts of the winged bean provide a source of
vitamin A and other
vitamins.
It is possible that, with a little selective breeding, the winged bean could raise the standard of living for millions of people in poor, tropical countries.
Image:Psophocarpus tetragonolobus1.jpg|Winged bean
Image:Wingedbean_roots.JPG|Roots of the winged bean at a market in Mandalay, Burma
Image:Pè_myit.JPG|Boiled winged bean roots as a snack in Burma
Synonyms
Further Information
Get more info on 'Winged Bean'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://winged_bean.totallyexplained.com">Winged bean Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
