Canavalia

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Canavalia
Canavalia sericea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Diocleae
Genus: Canavalia
DC.[1]
Species[1]

62; see text

Synonyms[1]
  • Canavali Adans. (1763), nom. rej.
  • Clementea Cav. (1804)
  • Cryptophaeseolus Kuntze (1891)
  • Malocchia Savi (1824)
  • Wenderothia Schltdl. (1838)

Canavalia is a genus of plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) that comprises approximately 62 species of tropical vines.[1] Members of the genus are commonly known as jack-beans. It has a pantropical distribution.[1]

The species of Canavalia endemic to the Hawaiian Islands were named ʻāwikiwiki by the Native Hawaiians. The name translates to "the very quick one"[2] and comes from the Hawaiian word for "fast". The genus name is derived from the Malabar word for the species, kavavali, which means "forest climber."[3]

Uses

Several species are valued legume crops, including common jack-bean (C. ensiformis), sword bean (C. gladiata) and C. cathartica. At least the first makes a beneficial weed- and pathogen-suppressing living mulch.[4] The common jack-bean is also a source of the lectin concanavalin A, which is used as a reagent in glycoprotein biochemistry and immunology. The jack-bean is also a common source of purified urease enzyme used in scientific research.

The bay bean (Canavalia rosea) is supposedly mildly psychoactive when smoked, and is used in tobacco substitutes.

Ecology

Some animals have adaptations to the defensive chemicals of jack-beans. Caterpillars such as that of the two-barred flasher (Astraptes fulgerator) are sometimes found on Canavalia. The plant pathogenic ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella canavaliae was described from a jack-bean. Introduced herbivores have wreaked havoc on Canavalia on the Hawaiian Islands and made some nearly extinct; it may be that these lost their chemical defenses because no herbivorous mammals existed in their range until introduced by humans. The usually bright pea-flowers are pollinated by insects such as solitary bees and carpenter bees such as Xylocopa confusa.

History

The genus name Canavalia was, as recently as 1913, known as Canavali.[5]

Diversity

Canavalia cathartica illustration. Francisco Manuel Blanco, Flora de Filipinas, etc. (1880-1883)
Canavalia lineata

Species include:[6]

Formerly placed here

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Canavalia DC. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ Pukui, M. K., et al. (1992): New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian. University of Hawaii PRess, Honolulu. ISBN 0-8248-1392-8
  3. ^ Austin, D. F. (2004). Florida Ethnobotany. CRC Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8493-2332-4.
  4. ^ Caamal-Maldonado, J. A.; et al. (2001). "The use of allelopathic legume cover and mulch species for weed control in cropping systems". Agronomy Journal. 93: 27–36. doi:10.2134/agronj2001.93127x. Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  5. ^ Piper, C. V. 1913. "The Jack Bean and the Sword Bean." USDA Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular. No. 110. p. 29-36
  6. ^ Genus Canavalia. Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS). Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  7. ^ a b "GRIN Species Records of Canavalia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "ʻawikiwiki, puakauhi". Hawaiian Ethnobotany Database. Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  9. ^ "Canavalia galeata". Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 2009-03-26.

External links