Rice bean
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 Harvested Vigna umbellata beans
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| Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi |
The rice bean is a small, hairy annual vine which bears yellow flowers and small edible beans. It is a minor food and fodder crop and occasionally a weed.
The English language name is a literal translation of the Chinese language name (Chinese: 飯豆; pinyin: fàndòu).
Seed color is variable, but commonly red or yellow. The red type is commonly named as 赤小豆 in Chinese, literally meaning 'red small bean'.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the red type rice beans help to relieve edema in some illness; they are also used in combination with Angelica sinensis (當歸) to remedy red eyes (possibly uveitis) with erosion of oropharyngeal or urogenital mucosae, which was suspected to be Behçet's disease in modern points of view. Although a separate species from the more common azuki bean, its appearance and uses are similar, though red type rice beans should be the correct ones.
[edit] External links
- Vigna umbellata (TSN 506275). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Illustrated Legume Genetic Resources Database (multiple photographs)
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