Matchbox Bean
A robust climbing vine native to the
east coast of Cape York produces a poisonous giant hanging bean. The white
section of the bean was extracted, baked and pounded to produce a sort of flour
that was soaked in fresh water and eaten as a bland, tasteless “porridge”. The
bark and stem were soaked in water and crushed with the resulting toxic lather
used as a soap and fish poison.
Australia's Bountiful Burny Beans
Burny beans, also known as Velvet beans, are better known by
the scientific name of Mucuna gigantea. They drop from a rampant, fast-growing
vine found in monsoon forests, open forests and woodlands, riverine, littoral,
subtropical and tropical rainforests. Ours are collected from the beaches of
Far Northern Queensland, Australia. They can also be found throughout Asia.
Mucuna gigantea has pale green flowers in spring and summer. The fruit is a brown, thick pod containing 4 black seeds. Brindle red and black or brown seeds can also be found, but are not nearly as common as the black. This vine is a useful screening plant and readily attracts butterflies. The seed germinates quickly by nicking the hard outer coat.
In Australia, powdered bark from the vine is mixed with dry ginger and used for rheumatic complaints by rubbing it over the affected areas. The seed was once eaten by Aborigines after preparation.
Mucuna gigantea has pale green flowers in spring and summer. The fruit is a brown, thick pod containing 4 black seeds. Brindle red and black or brown seeds can also be found, but are not nearly as common as the black. This vine is a useful screening plant and readily attracts butterflies. The seed germinates quickly by nicking the hard outer coat.
In Australia, powdered bark from the vine is mixed with dry ginger and used for rheumatic complaints by rubbing it over the affected areas. The seed was once eaten by Aborigines after preparation.
Most Burny Beans found are jet
black. Brindle patterns, reds and shades of brown are more rare.
Entada phaseoloides - Matchbox Bean (seed)
A vigorous climber native to North
QLD and pacific countries. Also called Gogo Vine (I prefer this name). The
seeds are 5-7cm diameter and 1cm thick, they have a hard coat and this enables
them to survive for many years at sea, washing around with the current before
being washed up on beaches. For this reason they are also more generally known
as Sea Beans, which include seeds from other genera such as Mucuna, Ipomoea and
Canavalia. They are made into necklaces and jewellery, the common name of
Matchbox Bean refers to their use many years ago as a matchbox.
Entada phaseoloides
Family
MimosaceaeBotanical Name
Entada phaseoloides (L.) Merr.Merrill, E.D. (1914) Philippine Journal of Science Section C. Botany 9: 86. Type: ?.
Synonyms
Entada scandens (L.) Benth., Hooker's Journal of Botany 4: 332(1841), Type: ?. Lens phaseoloides L. in O.Stickman, Herb. Amoin.: 18(1754), Type: Basd on desciption & plate of Faba marina Rumph. Herb. Amboin. 5: pl. 4 (1750).Common name
Matchbox Bean; Vine, Gogo; Matchbox Bean; Elva Climber; Climber, Elva; Elva Climber; Vine, Go-go; Go-go Vine; Bean, Matchbox; Gogo VineStem
Vine stem diameters to 18 cm recorded. Stems laterally compressed or flattened and twisted like a corkscrew. Vessels large, readily visible to the naked eye in transverse sections. Included bark segments pink. Pith eccentric, located much closer to one margin than the other in stem cross sections.Leaves
Leaves bipinnate with about 8-16 leaflets, (two to four leaflets on each secondary axis) main rhachis projecting as a branched tendril beyond the leaf. Leaflet blades about 4-11 x 2.5-5.5 cm, leaflet stalks about 0.1-0.7 cm long, transversely wrinkled. Stipules linear, falcate, about 2-4 x 2 mm. Lateral veins forming loops well inside the blade margin. Scattered large clear glands visible to the naked eye in the leaflet blades, numerous smaller glands visible with a lens.Flowers
Flowers +/- cup-shaped, about 1.5 mm diam. at the apex. Corolla pink to red on the outer surface, inner surface cream or translucent. Petals about 3 x 1-1.5 mm. Staminal filaments crumpled in the bud, filaments about 6-7 mm long at anthesis. Style crumpled in the bud. Ovules about 12.Fruit
Fruits flattened, about 88-100 x 9-12 cm, constricted at intervals and divided into about 12 segments, each segment about 7 x 9-10 cm, surrounded by endocarp and falling from the pod leaving only the sutures of the pod attached to the vine. Exocarp shed by rolling up into rolls of tissue. Endocarp not hard, +/- leathery or like parchment. Seeds laterally compressed, about 5-6 cm diam. and 1-1.5 cm thick. Testa hard. Cotyledons hard, about 4.5-5.5 x 4.5-5 cm diam., fused around the margin. Radicle about 4 mm long.Seedlings
Features not available.
Distribution and Ecology
Occurs in CYP and NEQ. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 100 m. Grows in beach forest, gallery forest, monsoon forest and lowland rain forest. Also occurs in New Guinea and other parts of Malesia, Asia and the Pacific islands.Natural History
Food plant for the larval stages of the Tailed Green-banded Blue Butterfly. Common & Waterhouse (1981).This species may have medicinal properties and has been used as a fish poison. (http://squid2.laughingsquid.net/hosts/herbweb.com /herbage/A9713.htm)
This species has been used medicinally in Malaysia, the Philippines and Java. The fruits are regarded as a contraceptive. Cribb (1981).
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