Vigna radiata
(L.) Wilczek
Green gram bean, (Mung bean)
(c) 陳柏璋, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
no rights reserved, uploaded by S.MORE
(c) SunGW, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Seeds, Pods, Leaves, Vegetable
The dried mature seeds are boiled and used in a wide range of ways — eaten as a vegetable, added to soups and stews, or fermented into Indian dishes such as idli. Seeds are frequently sprouted for use in salads or lightly cooked. They can be split, fried, and eaten as a snack, or ground into a powder for making starch noodles, biscuits, and bread. The seeds are globose to ellipsoid or cube-like, commonly green but variable in colour, measuring 25–40mm long and up to 3mm wide. Young seedpods, 6–10cm long and 4–6mm wide, are cooked as a vegetable. Leaves are also cooked and eaten.
Where to Find It
A tropical and subtropical plant. The plant will grow from sea level up to probably 1,600 m in the tropics. It is drought resistant but can't stand water-logging. Plants are damaged by frost. They cannot stand salinity. Rainfall at flowering is detrimental. It requires a deep soil. Both short day and long day kinds occur. It can grow where annual temperatures are from 8°C to 28°C. It can also grow at high temperatures of 30-36°C. It can tolerate a pH from 4.3-8.1. In Nepal it grows up to 1000 m altitude. It suits a drier climate. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 10-11. In Yunnan.
Afghanistan, Africa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America, Central Asia, Chile, China, Congo, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guam, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Himalayas, India, Indonesia, Indochina, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Marianas, Mauritius, Mexico, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, SE Asia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Somalia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A herb. It is an upright hairy bean plant which can be 1 m tall. It has many branches. The leaves have 3 leaflets and are dark green. The leaves are on long leaf stalks. There are oval stipules at the base of the leaf. Flowers are pale yellow and small. They occur in bunches of 10-20 on the ends of long hairy flower stalks. Pods are black and straight. They do not have a beak. Pods contain 10-20 seeds which are usually green or golden yellow. They are smaller than black gram. The beans can be black. They have a flat white hilum. There are 2,000 varieties.
Nutrition Score: 60/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeds | 11 | 1432 | 343 | 22.9 | 55 | 4 | 7.1 | — |
| Seed cooked | 439 | 105 | 7 | 2.4 | 1 | 1.4 | — | — |
| Seed sprouted raw | 90.4 | 126 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 13.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed. In some areas these are broadcast while for small plots often 2-3 seeds are sown in holes 50-60 cm apart. Seeding rates of 6 to 22 kg per ha are used in different locations. It normally requires phosphorus fertiliser for adequate growth. Seeds germinate in 3-5 days.
Propagation: Soak seed for 12 hours in warm water and sow in situ. Germination occurs at temperatures above 12°C, with 25°C being optimal, at which point seed can sprout within 3–7 days. The seed will germinate even in fairly dry soil.
Medicinal Uses
The seeds are traditionally regarded as a remedy for paralysis, rheumatism, coughs, fevers, and liver ailments.
Other Uses
The plant can be grown as a green manure or cover crop, enriching soil with nitrogen fixed on its roots. The seed flour is rich in saponins and works as a soap substitute, leaving skin smooth and soft.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Vigna radiata is a fast-growing annual reaching 0.8 m tall and 0.2 m wide. Insect-pollinated and self-fertile, it fixes nitrogen. Hardy to UK zone 10. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with well-drained conditions preferred. Tolerates mildly acidic to basic pH, very acidic, very alkaline, and saline soils. Grows in semi-shade to full sun and prefers dry or moist soil.
Production
Green pods are ready after about 2 months and ripe pods may take another 1-2 months. For ripe beans the whole plant is harvested and dried before threshing. Yields of 450-560 kg/ha of seeds are common.
Other Information
It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. Not widely grown in Papua New Guinea.
Notes
They contain 19-25 % protein and are high in lysine. There are about 150 Vigna species. They are mostly in the tropics.
Names & Synonyms
Bechin, Borao, Cherupayaru, Dau-tam, Dau-xanh, Fore-mungu, Hesaru, Imposo, Kakhoma, Look dow, Mag, Mbweso, Ming bean, Moog, Mphodza, Mposo, Mudga, Mug, Mun, Mun-eta, Mung, Namurovo, Ndengu, Pasi-payaru, Passara, Passippayaru, Patchapesalu, Pe-di, Pe-di-sein, Pe-di-wa, Pe-nauk, Putcha-payaru, Sbaiha, Suna, To-pi-si, Uthulu
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