BEAN – WINGED-CLIMBER

BEAN – WINGED – CLIMBER

Psophocarpus tetragonolobus

Winged bean is a strong climber with mauve-blue flowers & four-angled pods with wavy margins. The pods, leaves, flowers & tubers are all edible. The seeds contain 34% protein & 17% oil; If you are growing for pods, leaves or flowers grow it on a trellis. The young leaves (top 3 sets of leaflets on a shoot) are cooked & eaten. The flowers taste like sweetish mushrooms. It is among the world’s most effective nitrogen-fixers. A daylight length of 11-13 hours during hot weather is needed to flower. Very frost sensitive. Growing to 3-4m but wait for warm weather before sowing; it will grow in a wide range of soils but requires moisture to do well; it tolerates acidity.