Edible : Seeds, Leaves, Pods, Vegetable, Flowers,
An upright plant up to 1 m tall. Plants vary in height from 30 cm to 180 cm. It has a well developed taproot. It has square stems which are hollow. They have wings at the angles. There can be 1-7 branches from near the base of the plant. The leaves have leaflets along the leaf stalk and ending in a short point. There are 2-6 leaflets. These are 5-10 cm long. Flowers occur in the axils of leaves and there are 1-6 flowers on a stalk. The flowers are white with black spots. Pods are large and fat and contain several large beans inside. The pods are 5-10 cm long in field varieties and can be 30 cm long in garden varieties. They are fleshy with a white velvety lining. They become tough and hard at maturity. The seeds can vary a lot in shape and size. They can be flat or rounded and white, green, brown, purple or black. They are 1-2.6 cm long. The hilum along the seeds is prominent.
A temperate plant. It is only suitable for the highlands over about 1200 m. in the tropics. It mainly occurs between 1900 and 2700 m altitude in equatorial zones. It is frost tolerant. It is resistant to drought. It can grow with temperatures down to 4°C. In the lowland hot tropics it often flowers but does not set seed. It requires fertile soils. It does best with adequate lime. It needs a pH of 6.4-7.2. It can tolerate some salinity. In Nepal they grow to 1800 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 8-10. In Yunnan.
Common names : Broad bean, Faba bean, Anhuri, Bakala, Bakla, Bakulaa simi, Bakulla, Balka sem, Bob, Bosa-pe, Can dou, Chas tang, Chastang raiun, Chilow, Dau rang-ngua, Dicke boohne, Fava, Favas, Fave, Faveira, Feve, Field bean, Haba, Hende matar, Horse bean, Kabli bakla, Kadu huralikayee, Kala matar, Katun, Makhon shim, Mattz-rewari, Nakshan, Pe-let-ma, Pervatha, Raj-rawan, San-du-si, San-to-pe, Sau bohne, Sora mame, Tau-ke, Tayok-pe, Thua yang, Tick bean, Tsaam dou, Tsertsvi,
Synonyms :
Faba bona Medikus;
Faba faba (L.) House;
Faba major Desf.;
Faba minor Roxb.;
Faba sativa Bernh.;
Faba vulgaris var. major Harz;
Vicia faba var. major (Harz) Beck;
Vicia esculenta Salisb.;
Vicia vulgaris Gray;