Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC.

 
  • Family : FABACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Fabaceae
  • Subfamily : Faboideae
  • Basionym : Dolichos ensiformis L.
  • Synonym(s) : Canavalia ensiformis var. albida DC.; Canavalia ensiformis var. coriacea Domin; Canavalia ensiformis var. normalis Kuntze; Canavalia ensiformis var. truncata Ricker; Canavalia stocksii Dalzell & A.Gibson; Dolichos acinaciformis Jacq.; Dolichos cienskowskii Schweinf. & Asch.; Dolichos cultratus Wight ex Steud.; Dolichos ensiformis L.; Dolichos mutabilis Salisb.; Dolichos pugioniformis Raeusch.; Malocchia ensiformis Savi; Phaseolus virosus Bojer; Psophocarpus cienkowskii Schweinf. ex Baker f.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC.
  • Common name : Sword Bean, Jack bean, Broad Bean, Patagonian Bean
  • Vernacular name :
    • Govijiyashivalam, Kadasambal (Hindi)
    • Shembi avare, Kathiya vare, Tamate balli (Kannada)
    • Kattuthammati (Tamil)
    • Karu tamma, Adavi-thamba (Telugu)
    • Mobra, Bahara, Kalasimo (Oria)
    • Mahashibee
    • Abai (Marathi)
    • Fangra (Mizo)
  • Habit : Undershrub
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Comments / notes : The forage is palatable only when dried. Due to toxicity, caution is required in feeding herbage and pods of jack bean.
  • Flower, Fruit : August-March
  • Collector(s) Name : Cecil J. Saldanha, Syed Maqsood, R. Bhaskar, S.R. Ramesh; S.B. Manohar, S.R. Ramesh
  • Collection Nos : KFP 60; KFP 5832
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Kurnool district
    • Tamil Nadu : Salem district
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • West Bengal : Darjeeling district, Hooghly, Howrah, Murshidabad
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
  • Native : South and North America
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Pantropical
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Saldanha (1984). Flora of Karnataka vol. 1
    • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
    • Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 103
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Canavalia ensiformis
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Canavalia ensiformis. Downloaded on 19 March 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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