| Mucuna | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mucuna gigantea flowers | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Clade: | Millettioids |
| Tribe: | Phaseoleae |
| Genus: | Mucuna Adans.[1] |
| Species | |
|
More than 110, see text. | |
| Synonyms[2][1] | |
|
Homotypic:
Heterotypic:
| |
Mucuna is a genus of around 114 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical and subtropical forests in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.[2]
The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pea-like but larger, with distinctive curved petals, and occurring in racemes. Like other legumes, Mucuna plants bear pods. They are generally bat-pollinated and produce seeds that are buoyant sea-beans. These have a characteristic three-layered appearance, appearing like the eyes of a large mammal in some species and like a hamburger in others (most notably M. sloanei) and giving rise to common names like deer-eye beans, donkey-eye beans, ox-eye beans, or hamburger seed.
The name of the genus is derived from mucunã, a Tupi–Guarani word for these species.[3]
- ^ a b "Genus: Mucuna Adans". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
POWOwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 3 M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1738. ISBN 978-0-8493-2677-6.