Changes

*Sword bean, sword jackbean, Japanese jackbean (En). *Pois sabre, pois sabre rouge, haricot sabre (Fr). *Fava-contra (Po). Mwingasiafu, mbwanda (Sw).

*Perennial trailing or climbing herb up to 10 m long, often grown as an annual; root system deep. *Leaves alternate, pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules small, deciduous; petiole 5–17 cm long; leaflets with 4–7 mm long stalks, ovate, 7.5–20 cm × 5–14 cm, apex acuminate, shortly pubescent on both sides. *Inflorescence an axillary raceme 7–12 cm long; peduncle 4–20 cm long. *Flowers bisexual, papilionaceous, often resupinate; calyx up to 1.5 cm long, 2-lipped with a large 2-fid upper lip and a much smaller 3-fid lower lip; corolla white, standard c. 3.5 cm long; stamens 10, all joined; ovary superior, style slender, curved, stigma small. *Fruit a linear-oblong pod, slightly compressed, sometimes curved, 20–40(–60) cm × 3.5–5 cm, widest near the apex, 8–16-seeded, spirally dehiscent; each valve with ventral rib and extra rib spaced c. 4 mm. *Seeds 2–3.5 cm × 1.5–2 cm, red or red-brown, rarely black, pink or white; hilum 1.5–2.0 cm long. *Seedling with epigeal germination; first 2 leaves simple, opposite, with stipules connate.

* C.H. Bosch , PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Bosch, C.H., 2004. '''Canavalia gladiata''' (Jacq.) DC. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>.