Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) DC.
Family
Leguminosae
Synonyms
Dolichos gladiatus Jacq., Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC. var. gladiata (Jacq.) Kuntze, C. ensiformis auct. non (L.) DC.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kacang parang, kacang polong. |
| English | Sword bean. |
| Indonesia | Kara pedang, kacang parasman, koas bakol. |
| Philippines | Habas (Tagalog), magtambokau (Bisaya). |
| Cambodia | Tioeuhs. |
| Laos | (khùa) ‘khao ‘khièo. |
| Thailand | Thua-phra. |
| Vietnam | d[aaj]u r[uwj]a. |
| French | Pois sabre. |
Geographical Distributions
Canavalia gladiata is of Asiatic or African origin. It is only known in cultivation andprobably derived from C. virosa (Roxb.) Wight & Arnott, the most closely related wild species, occurring mainly in Africa. C. gladiata is widely cultivated in South and Southeast Asia, especially in India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Indo-China. It has now spread throughout the tropics and has become naturalised in some areas.
Description
C. gladiata is a vigorous, woody and perennial climber. It can grow measuring 3-10 m long and often grown as an annual. The root system is deeply penetrates the soil.
The leaves are trifoliolate, measuring 5-17 cm long petiole and with measure 4-7 mm petiolules. The leaflets are ovate in shape, measuring 7.5-20 cm x 5-14 cm, acuminate and sparsely pubescent on the both surfaces.
The inflorescence is an axillary raceme, measure 7-12 cm long, measuring 4-20 cm long peduncle and with measure 2 mm long pedicels. The flowers are often reflexed. The sepal is measure up to 16 mm long. The white petal is measure about 3.5 cm long.
The fruit is a legume, linear-oblong in shape, slightly compressed and with a size of measuring 15-40 cm x 2.5-5 cm. It is widest near the apex, sometimes curved with strongly developed ridges and contains 8-16 seeds.
The seeds are oblong-ellipsoid in shape, strongly compressed, measuring 2-3.5 cm x 1.5-2 cm, pink, red, reddish-brown to almost black and rarely white in colour. The dark brown hilum is measure 1.5-2 cm long. The seed-coat is very tough and thick.
Ecology / Cultivation
C. gladiata requires a tropical climate. It grows well at temperatures of 20-30°C and is cultivated from sea-level up to 1000 m altitude. Its deep root system allows sword bean to survive dry conditions, but it fares best with an evenly distributed rainfall of 900-1500 mm/year. It grows well on the very leached, nutrient-depleted, lowland tropical soils and on acid soils with a pH of 4.5-7.0. It is more resistant to saline soils and less affected by waterlogging or drought than many other legumes. It also tolerates some shade.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 8: Vegetables.
