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Canavalia gladiata
Fabaceae FAMILY

Canavalia gladiata

Canavalia gladiata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The mature seeds contain toxic alkaloids. These can be destroyed by thoroughly boiling the seeds twice in salt water[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual/Perennial
Growth—

Grows well in lowland tropical areas, succeeding at elevations up to 1,500 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range15 - 30 °c, but can tolerate 12 - 36°c[2]. The foliage can not tolerate frost, but any mature beans remain unaffected[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 800 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 600 - 2,600mm[2]. An easily grown plant, it is not fussy about soil type or fertility, though it prefers a soil rich in organic matter[1]. Tolerates some salinity in the soil[3]. Plants are shade tolerant[1]. A deep rooted plant, it is drought resistant when established and can also tolerate some waterlogging[3, 1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.3 - 7.5[2]. Young pods can be harvested about 3 - 5 months after sowing, the mature seeds in 6 - 10 months[1]. Average yields of dry seed are about 0.7 - 1.5 tonnes/ha, while the optimum is 4.6 tonnes/ha[1, 2]. 40- 5 0 tonnes/ha of green manure/green vegetation can be obtained[2]. A short day plant, often developing a bushy habit, but more commonly a climbing plant[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[4]. When removing plant remains at the end of the growing season, it is best to only remove the aerial parts of the plant, leaving the roots in the ground to decay and release their nitrogen.

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ, placing the seeds 2 - 3cm deep in the soil[1]. The seed germinates in about 72 hours[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Canavalia+gladiata>

Pollinators

Insects, Self

References

  1. [1]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Genetic Resources of Under-exploited Legumes/Tribal Pulses of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu — Kalidass C. & Mohan V.R. · 2011 ↩︎
  6. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎