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Burney Bean, Velvet Bean
Mucuna gigantea

Mucuna gigantea is a Pacific sea-bean, commonly found on some shores of Australia, Japan, Hawaii and other Pacific locations. The seeds come in a variety of colors and color patterns, with the majority (all?) of the Australian beans being entirely black. These forms can also be found in Hawaii, but more frequently found are color forms that are mottled with black and brown. Less commonly found in Hawaii are seeds that are entirely brown in color.

Mucuna gigantea color variations, showing its side, top, and hilum.

Mucuna gigantea seeds from Australia
Mucuna gigantea		Close-up of Mucuna gigantea
Photos:   Nan Rhodes

Mucuna gigantea seeds from Hawaii
Color variations, of black, brown, and mottled forms.	Both black and mottled seed forms in the same pod.
Color variations can, perhaps, be thought of as having all of the lighter color (the browns), or all of the darker color (black), or a mix of the two (mottled).

The white flowers of Mucuna gigantea are formed in a large, hanging cluster.
Flowers from Nahiku, Maui, Hawaii.   Note the ants, obviously attracted to the flowers!
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, from here



The seed pods of Mucuna gigantea are essentially without sculptural elements, except for at the margins of the pods.
Photo:   Izumi Hanno Godfrey; Iriomote Island, Japan. (photo extracted from Izumi's "Travels with Mr. Seabean")



Links

Links from "Travels with Mr. Seabean" "Two kinds of Mucuna in Iriomote" - Japan Mucuna gigantea young plant Other links Sea-beans from Australia Flower image by G.K. Linney