Vicia faba minuta
Vicia faba minuta
Safety & Hazards
Although often used as an edible seed, there is a report that eating the seed of this plant can cause the disease 'Favism' in susceptible people[ 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. ]. Favism only occurs in cases of excessive consumption of the seed (no more details are given[ K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ]) and when the person is genetically inclined towards the disease[ 213 Title Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Publication Author Weiner. M. A. Publisher Ballantine Books Year 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6 Description A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical. ].
Botanical Description
Vicia faba minuta is an annual lant growing up to 100cm tall. Related to the broad bean (Vicia faba), this species also has an edible seed though it is smaller and is more commonly used for animal feed. The plant can also be grown as a green manure crop[ 87 Title Green Manures. Publication Author Woodward. L. Burge. P. Publisher Elm Farm Research Centre. Year 1982 ISBN - Description Green manure crops for temperate areas. Quite a lot of information on a number of species. ]..