Flora of North America species comparison

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Mucuna

mucuna, sea bean
Stems

trailing or climbing, pubescent.
Leaves

alternate, odd-pinnate;

stipules present, lanceolate;

petiolate;

leaflets 3, stipels present, blade margins entire, surfaces pubescent.
Inflorescences

10–40-flowered, axillary, racemes or umbelliform, pendent;

bracts present, caducous.
Flowers

papilionaceous;

calyx 2-lipped, lobes 5, pubescent;

corolla white, yellow, or purple, 30–65 mm;

stamens 10, diadelphous;

anthers dorsifixed;

ovary pubescent.
Fruits

legumes, pendent, pedicellate, brown, oblong, compressed between seeds, dehiscent, pubescent, often with stinging hairs, ridges longitudinal or transverse.
Seeds

1–6, black to brown or white, 1–2 cm diam., spherical to oblong, smooth;

hilum lateral.
Vines

, annual or perennial, herbaceous or woody, unarmed.
x

= 11.

Mucuna
Distribution
from FNA
HI; se United States; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Asia; Africa; Australia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species ca. 100 (2 in the flora).

Pending resolution of generic relationships, we follow G. P. Lewis et al. (2005) in treating Mucuna in a broad sense to encompass Stizolobium. The status of putative cultigens, such as M. aterrima (Piper & Tracy) Holland and M. deeringiana (treated here as a synonym of M. pruriens), needs further study. Phylogenetic studies are also needed to resolve issues in species circumscription and the proper application of names, particularly for extralimital taxa.

In addition to the taxa treated below, some species of Mucuna collected from tropical Asia were grown experimentally at the United States Department of Agriculture Experiment Station in Biloxi, Mississippi. These include M. aterrima (= M. pruriens according to R. A. Howard 1974–1989, vol. 4), Stizolobium cinereum Piper & Tracy (no name yet available in Mucuna), M. hassjoo (Piper & Tracy) Mansfeld (= M. pruriens var. utilis according to V. A. Funk et al. 2007), M. lyonii Merrill, M. nivea (Roxburgh) de Candolle ex Wight & Arnott, M. pachylobia Rock, M. stans Welwitsch ex Baker, and M. velutina Hasskarl. There is no evidence that these taxa have escaped.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Legumes 5–9 cm, transverse ridges absent; hilum to 1/4 circumference of seeds, elevated; inflorescences racemes; terminal leaflet blades rhombic-ovate.
M. pruriens
1. Legumes 9–12(–16) cm, transverse ridges conspicuous; hilum nearly circling seeds, not elevated; inflorescences umbelliform; terminal leaflet blades ovate.
M. sloanei
Source FNA vol. 11. Authors: Rachel K. Clark, Alexander Krings.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Subordinate taxa
M. pruriens, M. sloanei
Synonyms Stizolobium
Name authority Adanson: Fam. Pl. 2: 325, 579 — (as Mukuna)s. 1763, name and orthography conserved
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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