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Vigna vexillata |
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| Synonym(s) |
Phaseolus vexillatus |
| Common name |
wild mung bean; wild cow pea; zombi pea |
| Family |
fabaceae |
| Life cycle |
tender perennial |
| Flowers |
magenta |
| Size |
vine |
From seed  |
Flowers first year from seed sown indoors early.
detailed seed-starting info below
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Bean relative native to tropical areas of Africa, Asia, and South America with glossy mid-green leaves and curiously contorted striated pink flowers. Slow to get started, but the vines venture out in mid-summer. The roots of this species can be eaten boiled or raw. I don't think we'll try that – I'm just interested in observing how it does in our garden for a year.
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Some time after the flowers fade, fruit pods start appearing. They start as small soft-hairy green pods, then continue to grow and mature to dry brown beans – always held in pairs.
After the year-long observation in our Pennsylvania garden, our plants expired the following winter. I didn't try to grow them again until after we moved to Texas, where they stand a chance of survival. Sure enough, several of 2017's seedlings survived the winter freezes to push up new growth by late March. They didn't do much in their first year, but I hope they will pick up the pace now that they're established.
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| | Overwintered plants re-establishing in early April |
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... Seed for this plant is included on my seed trade list About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Vigna vexillata
- Seed from '09 trade. Baggy 75F (5d; 20%G, 2-5d) - sandpapered - 75F (30%G, 4-10d)
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