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 (1164)