Broad Bean / Fava Bean🌿

An annual or biennial in the legume family, native from the Mediterranean to Western Asia; cultivated since several millennia BC, one of the oldest crops. The name 'sora-mame' ('sky bean') comes from the upright pods pointing skyward. The large beans are enjoyed salt-boiled, stir-fried, as paste, or fried — a favourite early-summer treat. A staple food in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Can cause haemolytic anaemia ('favism') in some people.

Identification Points

• ✓Pods stand upright, pointing skyward
• ✓Even-pinnate leaves without a terminal tendril (unlike pea)
• ✓White to pale purple flowers with a black blotch on the standard petal

Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification

Phylogenetic Positionマメ科 →