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Velvet bean
Eugene Popov, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist

Legumes: pea and bean family

Velvet bean

Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.

Introduced by people

Names

EnglishVelvet bean
DutchFluweelboon
SpanishFrijol terciopelo
Chinese黧豆
Scientific nameMucuna pruriens (L.) DC.

About this species

Mucuna pruriens is a tropical legume native to Africa and tropical Asia and widely naturalized and cultivated. Its English common names include monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean.

The plant is notorious for the extreme itchiness it produces on contact, particularly with the young foliage and the seed pods. It also produces many medium-sized red swollen bumps on the skin with the itching. It has agricultural and horticultural value, and is used in herbalism.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae
GenusMucuna

In Suriname

11Records in Suriname
1843First record
2013Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Sipaliwini7
  • Para1
  • Paramaribo1

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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