Lablab purpureus: Uses (Ethnobotany)
It has been used in the Philippines and China as a stimulant, to reduce fever, to reduce flatulence, to stimulate digestion, and as an antispasmodic. In Namibia, the root has been used to treat heart conditions.
Plant Profile: Lablab purpureus
Taxonomy: Lablab purpureusNames
Hyacinth Bean, Indian Bean, Lablab
Phonetic Spelling:LAB-lab pur-PUR-ee-us
Genus:Lablab
Species:purpureus
Family:Fabaceae
Hyacinth Bean has been cultivated for its edible beans, flowers, and leaves across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. In the United States, it serves primarily as feed for livestock, including uses as forage, hay, and silage. Additionally, it plays a role in enriching nitrogen levels in fallow fields. Presently, its most prevalent application here is as an ornamental plant within the cut flower market, prized for its vibrant late summer blooms and striking purple pods.
This twining vine features purplish stems and can be grown as an annual in home gardens, appreciated for both its decorative flowers and bean pods. It thrives when supported by a robust trellis to accommodate its growth. Preferring light, moist, well-drained soil and full sun, it should be planted after the last frost has passed and is particularly well-suited to hot, humid climates.
Lablab purpureus Feature Summary
Lablab purpureus Image Gallery
Tags
#purple
#hummingbirds
#showy flowers
#full sun tolerant
#heat tolerant
#annual
#summer annual
#wildlife plant
#nectar plant
#privacy
#vines
#twining
#ornamental vine
#purple stems
#exotic looking
#edible garden
#humidity tolerant
#butterfly friendly
#buncombe sun and shade
Similar Plants
Lablab purpureus Feature Summary
Attributes
It has been used in the Philippines and China as a stimulant, to reduce fever, to reduce flatulence, to stimulate digestion, and as an antispasmodic. In Namibia, the root has been used to treat heart conditions.
Tropical Africa
Attracts hummingbirds, a good choice for food plots and will attract deer.
Mature dried seeds are edible if thoroughly boiled, changing the water several times. Young immature pods can be cooked and eaten.
Annual
Twining
Fruit
Purple seedpods are 2 to 4 in. long smooth, flat, pointed, and contain 2 to 4 seeds. Seeds can be white, cream, pale brown, dark brown, red, black, or mottled depending on the variety.
Purple/Lavender
Edible
1-3 inches
Flowers
The fragrant flowers are in elongated clusters, pea-shaped and white, pink, or purple
Pink
Purple/Lavender
White
Fragrant
Showy
Long Bloom Season
Summer
Fall
Irregular
3-6 inches
Leaves
Pinnately divided leaves with 3 large leaflets 3-6 inches long. Each egg-shaped leaflet is smooth above and shorthaired below.
Green
Purple/Lavender
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Alternate
Ovate
Entire
3-6 inches
Soft
3-6 inches
Stem
Poisonous to Humans
Toxic only if large quantities are eaten. Weakness, vomiting, labored breathing, twitching, stupor, convulsions from mature dried seeds. TOXIC ONLY IF LARGE QUANTITIES EATEN.
Cyanogenic glycoside
Seeds
Whole Plant Traits
Edible
Poisonous
Vine
Spreading
Climbing
Rapid
Medium
Medium
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Acid (<6.0)
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Good Drainage
12-24 feet
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
10a
10b
11a
11b
Clay
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Landscape
Edible Garden
Butterfly Garden
Pollinator Garden
Screen/Privacy
Heat
Humidity
Vertical Spaces
Butterflies
Hummingbirds
Lablab purpureus Image Gallery
Lablab purpureus Attributes
Lablab purpureus: Country Or Region Of Origin
Tropical Africa
Lablab purpureus: Wildlife Value
Attracts hummingbirds, a good choice for food plots and will attract deer.
Lablab purpureus: Edibility
Mature dried seeds are edible if thoroughly boiled, changing the water several times. Young immature pods can be cooked and eaten.
Lablab purpureus: Life Cycle
Annual
Biennial
Bulb
Perennial
Woody
Lablab purpureus: Recommended Propagation Strategy
Division
Grafting
Layering
Leaf Cutting
Root Cutting
Seed
Stem Cutting
Lablab purpureus: Climbing Method
Clinging
Scrambler
Tendrils
Twining
Lablab purpureus Fruit
Lablab purpureus: Fruit Description
Purple seedpods are 2 to 4 in. long smooth, flat, pointed, and contain 2 to 4 seeds. Seeds can be white, cream, pale brown, dark brown, red, black, or mottled depending on the variety.
Lablab purpureus: Fruit Color
Purple/Lavender
Lablab purpureus: Fruit Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy
Lablab purpureus: Display/Harvest Time
Fall
Spring
Summer
Winter
Lablab purpureus: Fruit Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
> 3 inches
Lablab purpureus Flowers
Lablab purpureus: Flower Description
The fragrant flowers are in elongated clusters, pea-shaped and white, pink, or purple
Lablab purpureus: Flower Color
Pink
Purple/Lavender
White
Lablab purpureus: Flower Inflorescence
Catkin
Corymb
Cyme
Head
Insignificant
Panicle
Raceme
Solitary
Spadix
Spike
Umbel
Lablab purpureus: Flower Value To Gardener
Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long Bloom Season
Long-lasting
Showy
Lablab purpureus: Flower Bloom Time
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Lablab purpureus: Flower Shape
Bell
Cross
Crown
Cup
Dome
Funnel
Irregular
Lipped
Radial
Saucer
Star
Trumpet
Tubular
Urn
Wheel
Lablab purpureus: Flower Size
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches
Lablab purpureus Leaves
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Description
Pinnately divided leaves with 3 large leaflets 3-6 inches long. Each egg-shaped leaflet is smooth above and shorthaired below.
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Color
Green
Purple/Lavender
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Fronds
Needles
Sheath
Simple
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Arrangement
Alternate
Opposite
Other/more complex
Rosulate
Whorled
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Shape
Acicular
Auriculate
Cordate
Cuneate
Deltoid
Elliptical
Filiform
Lanceolate
Linear
Oblanceolate
Oblong
Obovate
Obtuse
Orbicular
Ovate
Palmasect
Palmatifid
Peltate
Pinnatifid
Pinnatisect
Reniform
Rhomboidal
Spatulate
Subcordate
Subulate
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Margin
Crenate
Crenulate
Dentate
Denticulate
Doubly Crenate
Doubly Dentate
Doubly Serrate
Entire
Lobed
Serrate
Sinuate
Undulate
Lablab purpureus: Hairs Present
No
Yes
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Length
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Feel
Fleshy
Glossy
Leathery
Papery
Prickly
Rough
Rubbery
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Velvety
Waxy
Lablab purpureus: Leaf Width
< 1 inch
1-3 inches
3-6 inches
> 6 inches
Lablab purpureus Stem
Lablab purpureus: Stem Description
Purplish stems
Lablab purpureus: Stem Color
Purple/Lavender
Lablab purpureus: Stem Is Aromatic
No
Yes
Lablab purpureus Poisonous to Humans
Lablab purpureus: Poison Symptoms
Toxic only if large quantities are eaten. Weakness, vomiting, labored breathing, twitching, stupor, convulsions from mature dried seeds. TOXIC ONLY IF LARGE QUANTITIES EATEN.
Lablab purpureus: Poison Toxic Principle
Cyanogenic glycoside
Lablab purpureus: Poison Severity
High
Low
Medium
Lablab purpureus: Causes Contact Dermatitis
No
Yes
Lablab purpureus: Poison Part
Bark
Flowers
Fruits
Leaves
Roots
Sap/Juice
Seeds
Stems
Lablab purpureus Whole Plant Traits
Lablab purpureus: Plant Type
Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower
Lablab purpureus: Habit/Form
Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping
Lablab purpureus: Growth Rate
Slow
Medium
Rapid
Lablab purpureus: Maintenance
Low
Medium
High
Lablab purpureus: Texture
Fine
Medium
Coarse
Lablab purpureus Cultural Conditions
Lablab purpureus: Light
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Lablab purpureus: Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Alkaline (>8.0)
Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Lablab purpureus: Soil Drainage
Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry
Lablab purpureus: Available Space To Plant
12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet
Lablab purpureus: NC Region
Coastal
Mountains
Piedmont
Lablab purpureus: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
10a
10b
11a
11b
Lablab purpureus: Soil Texture
Clay
High Organic Matter
Loam (Silt)
Sand
Shallow Rocky
Lablab purpureus Landscape
Lablab purpureus: Landscape Theme
Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden
Lablab purpureus: Design Feature
Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree
Lablab purpureus: Resistance To Challenges
Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind
Lablab purpureus: Landscape Location
Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland
Lablab purpureus: Attracts
Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees
