Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-245
Hyacinth Bean
Lablab purpureus
Hyacinth bean, sold under the cultivar name Rio Verde, is a Texas A&M-bred lablab selected specifically for warm-climate forage - a two-metre taproot lets it pull water long after shallower beans have stopped growing in July heat. Its hay rivals alfalfa in quality for cattle, goats and sheep, and the leaves are tannin-free, though the seed itself is poisonous raw and must be cooked thoroughly before anyone or anything eats it. Beyond forage, the young pods, immature seeds, leaves, flowers and a large starchy root are all edible once mature seed is properly cooked, and its roots leave a large amount of nitrogen behind in the soil. One catch: it is imported into the US mainly as deer forage, so any patch grown for harvest needs a fence.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–11
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Moderate
Vertical layer
Vine- Soil pH
- 5.5–7
- Plant type
- Vine
- Mature height
- 10–20 ft
- Mature spread
- 3–6 ft
- Plant spacing
- 1–4.2 ft
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Achocha
Cyclanthera pedata
Achocha is a fast climbing vine that gives three edible parts off one plant - young fruit eaten raw or cooked with a cucumber flavor, mature…
Vine · USDA 9–11
Air Potato
Dioscorea bulbifera
Air Potato is a true perennial vine that produces edible bulbils in its leaf axils along with an underground tuber - unlike frost-killed…
Vine · USDA 7–11
Akebia
Akebia quinata
Akebia is a fast-growing twining vine from East Asian mountain woodland that tolerates full shade better than almost any other fruiting…
Vine · USDA 5–8
Amur Grape
Vitis amurensis
Amur Grape is a cold-hardy climbing vine, native to the woodlands of Russia, China, Korea and Japan, that survives temperatures down to about…
Vine · USDA 4–8
Bitter Melon
Momordica charantia
Bitter melon is a fast-growing tropical vine grown for its young green fruit, cooked the way cucumber is used across the tropics. Left to…
Vine · USDA 9–11
Bottle Gourd
Lagenaria siceraria
Bottle gourd's real value here is not food but craft: the mature shell dries hard enough to become a bottle, bowl, dipper or birdhouse…
Vine · USDA 2–11
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference