sword bean
• noun
The large, elongated, slightly curved seed pod or reddish-pink seed of the tropical vine Canavalia gladiata, harvested young as a cooked green vegetable or pickled in Asian cuisine, and thoroughly boiled when mature to remove natural toxins.
"In Japanese cuisine, tender young sword beans are often sliced and pickled to accompany rice dishes."
A vigorous, twining tropical leguminous vine (Canavalia gladiata) in the family Fabaceae, native to Africa and Asia, cultivated as a vegetable crop, green manure, and forage plant, characterized by trifoliate leaves and long, sword-shaped pods.
"Farmers in tropical regions frequently plant the sword bean as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop to enrich depleted soil."
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