Hyacinth Bean Vine
Photo taken at Monticello,Virginia. in Thomas Jefferson’s Garden by Howard Garrett
COMMON NAME: Hyacinth Bean vine
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Dolichos lablab
FAMILY: Fabaceae
PRONOUNCED: DOE-lee-chos LAB-LAB
TYPE: Annual vine for sun.
SPACING: 4-8’
HABIT: Purple flowers in late summer, followed by short, deep purple seedpods. Tall climbing and wide spreading annual vine, planted from pretty black and white seed sin the spring. Fast growing and beautiful.
The Hyacinth Bean (Dolichos lablab, syn. Lablab purpureus), also called Indian Bean and Egyptian Bean. It is a plant of the family Fabaceae, a species of bean widespread as a food crop throughout the tropics, especially in Africa. It is also grown as forage and as an ornamental plant.
CULTURE: Very easy to grow in most soils.
USES: Late summer color, shade for arbor or trellis.
PROBLEMS: Black fuzzy caterpillars. Good news is that they grow up to be beautiful butterflies.
NOTES: The name is now Lablab purpureus. Beans are edible but not very good to me. They should be cooked when very young and tender.
Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s Garden
Read More:
Thomas Jefferson, the Gardener
Click here to find Hyacinth Bean: Seed Catalogs