Vigna radiata
| Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek | |
|---|---|
| |
| Order | Fabales |
| Family | Leguminosae - Papilionoideae |
| Genus | Vigna |
| 2n = 22 | |
| Origin: India | |
| wild and cultivated | |
Contents |
Popular names
- English: mung bean, green gram, golden gram
- French: haricot mungo ; ambérique
- German: Mung-Bohne
- Dutch: mungboon, katjang idjo
- Spanish: judía mung
- Portuguese: feijão mungo
- Italian : fagiolo mungo
- Hindi: mūṁg
- Japanese: bundo, yayenari
- Chinese: lǜ dòu ; lan tou, lou teou
- Viernamese: đậu xanh
- Indonesian: kacang hijau
see more European names
Biology
Classification
Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek (1954)
synonyms:
- Phaseolus radiatus L. (1753)
- P. aureus Roxb. (1814)
- P. mungo Roxb. (1832) et auct. non L. (1753)
Linnaeus erroneously called the mungo Phasolus radiata and the urd Phaseolus mungo. This was noticed by Roxburgh who corrected by inverting the use of such names. This arose a long period of confusion, further augmented by the shift of those species to Vigna. Unfortunately, the rules of nomenclature ICBN oblige us to follow the original choice of Linneaus for the epithet.
The wild form is var. sublobata (Roxb.) Verdc. (1970), distributed from East Africa to India, South-East Asia and Indonesia.
Cultivars
Three varieties are classically distinguished, following Prain:
- var. radiata (syn. : var. typica Prain, Phaseolus mungo Roxb.), mūṁg sensu stricto, has deep green leaves and green or olive green seeds. It is the commonest type found in western countries.
- var. aurea (syn. : P. aureus Roxb.), called sonā mūṁg in Hindi, has light green leaves and yellow seeds.
- var. grandis (syn. : P. max Roxb.), kriśṇa mūṁg in Hindi, has medium green leaves and black seeds.
There are also cultivars with brown, deep red or speckled seeds.
History
Uses
This species is the main source of bean sprouts. They are often erroneously termed "soya sprouts" (e.g. in French germes de soja). True soybean (Glycine max) is also used more occasionally, and has thicker sprouts wich must be slightly cooked, as they are toxic. Mung beans are best eaten raw, in salads or added to a soup at the last minut.
