Mucuna pruriens var. pruriens

Photo specimen : Wild

Specimen height : 4-5 meters

Habitats : Creek banks, roadsides, scrublands and thickets

Local name : Bolokabok

Trade names : Velvet bean, Cowitch

Botanical name : Mucuna pruriens var. pruriens

Family : Fabaceae - Faboideae

Fruiting season : November to January

Traits : Annual climber; Fast-growing; Nitrogen-fixing; Shade tolerant; Tolerant of infertile soil

Recommendations : Collector’s; Fallow improvement; Green manure; Cut and carry fodder; Ornamental vine

Used for : Various parts are used in traditional medicine; Forage and silage

Native range : India, China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened

(Note : var. utilis for non-stinging, cultivated forms and var. pruriens for stinging, wild forms)

Further reading :

Tropical Forages - Mucuna pruriens http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Mucuna_pruriens.htm (1621)