Canavalia

Thesaurus

Noun

Canavalia - herbs or woody vines of mainly American tropics and subtropicsgenus Canavaliarosid dicot genus - a genus of dicotyledonous plantsPapilionoideae, subfamily Papilionoideae - alternative name used in some classification systems for the family PapilionaceaeCanavalia ensiformis, giant stock bean, jack bean, wonder bean - annual semi-erect bushy plant of tropical South America bearing long pods with white seeds grown especially for forageCanavalia gladiata, sword bean - twining tropical Old World plant bearing long pods usually with red or brown beans; long cultivated in Orient for food

Canavalia

a genus of perennial prostrate trailing, climbing, or, sometimes, woody plants of the family Leguminosae. The leaves are ternate. The flowers are large, up to 6 cm long; they are usually purple or violet, in racemose inflorescences. The fruit, or bean, is 6—40 mm long, hard, swordlike, with 4—15 large seeds. Approximately 50 species exist in the tropics and subtropics, mainly of America and Africa. The sword bean (Canavalia gladiata) and the jack bean (C. ensiformis) are widely cultivated as annual vegetable plants in India, Indochina, Japan, and southeastern North America. The seeds and unripe beans are edible. In the southern regions of North America, the jack bean is sometimes used as green manure. Some species are ornamentals.

Canavalia

Related to Canavalia: jack bean, Canavalia gladiata

noun

Synonyms for Canavalia

noun herbs or woody vines of mainly American tropics and subtropics

Synonyms

genus Canavalia

Related Words

rosid dicot genus
Papilionoideae
subfamily Papilionoideae
Canavalia ensiformis
giant stock bean
jack bean
wonder bean
Canavalia gladiata
sword bean