Skip to content


Taxon:  Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. utilis (Wall. ex Wight) Baker ex Burck (Mucuna pruriens Utilis Group)



Summary
Genus:
Mucuna
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Phaseoleae
Nomen number:
310522
Place of publication:
Ann. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg 11:187. 1893
Comment:
[or M. pruriens Utilis Group]
Verified:
09/23/1986 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
9 (5  active, 1  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. (9 active accession[s])
Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. hirsuta (Wight & Arn.) Wilmot-Dear (0 active accession[s])
Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. pruriens (0 active accession[s])
Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. sericophylla (Perkins) Wilmot-Dear (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Mucuna utilis Wall. ex Wight

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Adam, J.-G. Flore descriptive des monts Nimba. 1971-
  2. Burrill, T. J. & R. Hansen. 1917. Is symbiosis possible between legume bacteria and non-legume plants? Bull. Illinois Agric. Exp. Sta. 202:115-181.
  3. Diabate, M. et al. 2005. Occurrence of nodulation in unexplored leguminous trees native to the West African tropical rainforest and inoculation response of native species useful in reforestation. New Phytol. 166:231-239.
  4. duCellier, J. 1999. pers. comm.
  5. Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
  6. Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 1989- 11:199-203.
  7. Graham, E. H. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412. 1941
  8. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. 1984-
  9. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. 1974-1989
  10. Huang, S. F. & T. C. Huang. Taxonomic treatment of the Papilionoideae (Leguminosae) of Taiwan. Taiwania 32:11-117. 1987
  11. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
  12. International Seed Testing Association. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2. 1982
  13. Jardim e Museu Agricola do Ultramar, Portugal. Flora da Guine Portuguesa. 1971-1973
  14. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
  15. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2. 1998
  16. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  17. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
  18. Smith, A. C. Flora vitiensis nova. 1979-1991
  19. Verdcourt, B. A manual of New Guinea legumes. 1979
  20. Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
  21. Wilmot-Dear, C. M. 1984. A revision of Mucuna (Leguminosae-Phaseoleae) in China and Japan. Kew Bull. 39:63.
  22. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994-
Common names
English
Bengal velvet-bean –
cowage velvet-bean –
Florida velvet-bean –
lacuna-bean –
Lyon-bean –
Mauritius velvet-bean –
velvet-bean –
Yokohama velvet-bean –
Italian
stizolobia –
Spanish
guisante negro –
Transcribed Chinese
li dou –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
2Cultivated     
Cultivated ()
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodforage Markle, G. M. et al., eds. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2. 1998
Bee plantshoney production Graham, E. H. Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. USDA Misc. Publ. 412. 1941
Environmentalornamental Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
Environmentalsoil improver Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
Human foodpulse Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981
Medicinessource of L-dopa Farnsworth, N. R. & D. D. Soejarto. Global importance of medicinal plants (unpublished draft manuscript rev. 23, 1988)
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=310522. Accessed 19 July 2025.


GRIN-Global project