Lablab Bean

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

Lablab purpureus ssp purpureus, a legume of African or Asian origin which has been grown in India since very early times. It is now cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide for human food and also as animal fodder. It has many merits: a high protein content; a high yield; the ability to stay green during droughts; and easy harvesting.

Other common names for the lablab bean include bonavist(a) bean, Egyptian bean, and hyacinth bean.

In modern Arabic, the general word for a bean, lubia, is taken to mean the lablab bean unless otherwise indicated.