Saving the Endangered Sword Bean
(Canavalia gladiata)
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Author in earlier years shows a cluster of green pods of sword bean he planted in his garden. Lower photo, dehiscent characteristic typical of many legumes. The pod disperses and disseminates the seeds automatically when fully mature.
Sword Bean has long disappeared from the backyard. It used to be a popular succulent vegetable with the young pod sliced thinly, cooked as salad, with meat or fish, or in bulanglang, and other recipes. These seeds shown in the photo have been germinated with the hope of saving this endangered plant.
These two beans are related but are different species. Sword bean is Canavalia gladiata and Jack bean is Canavalia ensiformis. Sword bean seeds tend to be red-pink to light brown, while Jack bean seeds are white or light tan.
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