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Vicia faba

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

                  iVicia faba
   Vicia faba plants in flower
   Vicia faba plants in flower
           Scientific classification

   Kingdom:   Plantae
   Division:  Magnoliophyta
   Class:     Magnoliopsida
   Order:     Fabales
   Family:    Fabaceae
   Subfamily: Faboideae
   Tribe:     Vicieae
   Genus:     Vicia
   Species:   V. faba

                                Binomial name

   Vicia faba
   L.

   Vicia faba, the broad bean, fava bean, faba bean, horse bean, field
   bean or tic bean is a species of bean ( Fabaceae) native to north
   Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere.
   Although usually classified in the same genus Vicia as the vetches,
   some botanists treat it in a separate monotypic genus as Faba sativa
   Moench.
   broad beans in the pod
   Enlarge
   broad beans in the pod

   It is a rigid, erect plant 0.5-1.7 m tall, with stout stems with a
   square cross-section. The leaves are 10-25 cm long, pinnate with 2-7
   leaflets, and of a distinct glaucous grey-green colour; unlike most
   other vetches, the leaves do not have tendrils for climbing over other
   vegetation. The flowers are 1-2.5 cm long, with five petals, the
   standard petal white, the wing petals white with a black spot, and the
   keel petals white. The fruit is a broad leathery pod, green maturing
   blackish-brown, with a densely downy surface; in the wild species, the
   pods are 5-10 cm long and 1 cm diameter, but many modern cultivars
   developed for food use have pods 15-25 cm long and 2-3 cm thick. Each
   pod contains 3-8 seeds; round to oval and 5-10 mm diameter in the wild
   plant, usually flattened and up to 20-25 mm long, 15 mm broad and 5-10
   mm thick in food cultivars. Vicia faba has a diploid (2n) chromosome
   number of 12, meaning that each cell in the plant has 12 chromosomes (6
   homologous pairs). Five pairs are acrocentric chromosomes and 1 pair is
   metacentric.

Cultivation and uses

   Broad beans have a long tradition of cultivation in Old World
   agriculture, being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and
   also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils,
   peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet
   in around 6000 BC or earlier. They are still often grown as a cover
   crop to prevent erosion because they can over-winter and because as a
   legume, they fix nitrogen in the soil.
   Mature field bean pods
   Enlarge
   Mature field bean pods

   In much of the world, the name broad bean is used for the large-seeded
   cultivars grown for human food, while horse bean and field bean refer
   to cultivars with smaller, harder seeds (more like the wild species)
   used for animal feed, though their stronger flavour is preferred in
   some human food recipes, such as falafel. The term fava bean (from the
   Italian name fava) is commonly used in the United States (especially
   for beans grown for human consumption), but is also seen elsewhere,
   especially in Mediterranean recipes (this language shift can also be
   seen in the common use of the term "arugula" in the US for what in the
   UK is called "rocket").

Culinary uses

   Broad beans, shelled and lightly steamed for 3 minutes.
   Enlarge
   Broad beans, shelled and lightly steamed for 3 minutes.

   Broad beans are eaten while still young and tender, enabling harvesting
   to begin as early as the middle of spring for plants started under
   glass or over-wintered in a protected location, but even the maincrop
   sown in early spring will be ready from mid to late summer. Horse
   beans, left to mature fully, are usually harvested in the late autumn.

   The beans can be fried, causing the skin to split open, and then salted
   to produce a crunchy snack. These are popular in China, and also in
   Thailand where their name means "open-mouth nut".

Health issues

   Broad beans are rich in tyramine, and thus should be avoided by those
   taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors. They contain vicine and convicine,
   which can induce hemolytic anaemia in patients with the hereditary
   condition glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This
   condition, which is quite common in certain ethnic groups, is called
   "favism" after the fava bean.

   Broad beans are rich in L-dopa, a substance used medically in the
   treatment of Parkinson's disease. L-dopa is also a natriuretic agent,
   which might help in controlling hypertension.

   Note: The pods of broad beans are reputed to be toxic.

Other uses

     * In ancient Greece and Rome, beans were used in voting; a white bean
       being used to cast a yes vote, and a black bean for no. Pythagoras
       called on his disciples to abstain from beans. It is, however,
       uncertain whether they were meant to abstain from eating beans or
       from involving themselves in politics.
     * In Ubykh culture, throwing beans on the ground and interpreting the
       pattern in which they fall was a common method of divination (
       favomancy), and the word for "bean-thrower" in that language has
       become a generic term for seers and soothsayers in general.
     * In Italy, broad beans are traditionally sown on November 2, All
       Souls Day. Small cakes made in the shape of broad beans (though not
       of them) are known as fave dei morti or "beans of the dead".
       According to tradition, Sicily once experienced a failure of all
       crops other than the beans; the beans kept the population from
       starvation, and thanks were given to Saint Joseph. Broad beans
       subsequently became traditional on Saint Joseph's Day altars in
       many Italian communities. Some people carry a broad bean for good
       luck; some believe that if one carries a broad bean, one will never
       be without the essentials of life.
     * In ancient Greece and Rome, beans were used as a food for the dead,
       such as during the annual Lemuria festival. In some folk legends,
       such as in Estonia and the common Jack and the Beanstalk story,
       magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds. The
       Grimm Brothers collected a story in which a bean splits its sides
       laughing at the failure of others. Dreaming of a bean is sometimes
       said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said that
       they caused bad dreams. Pliny claimed that they acted as a
       laxative. European folklore also claims that planting beans on Good
       Friday or during the night brings good luck.

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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