COWPEAS, SOYBEANS, AND VELVET BEANS 149 



VELVET BEAN (Stizolobium) 



Origin. Although little is known of the early history of the 

 velvet bean it is thought that it is a native of India. The 

 Florida velvet bean (Stizolobium deeringianum) was introduced 

 into Florida previous to 1875 and has never been grown much 

 farther north because of climatic limitations. Southern Georgia, 

 Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana mark the northern limits 

 of this thrifty, vigorous growing legume. Cultivated varieties of 

 related species of Stizolobium have been found in the countries 

 surrounding the Indian Ocean. The most important of 

 these is the Lyon bean (S. niveum). Hybridization between 

 this form and the Florida velvet bean has produced many 

 different types, some of which resemble other species of Stizolo- 

 bium. From this fact, Piper has suggested that possibly all 

 cultivated forms of Stizolobium belong to a single species. 



Important Characters and Inheritance. The Florida velvet 

 bean is an annual of extremely vigorous growth. Its branched, 

 vine-like stems sometimes reach a length of from 30 to 50 ft. 

 The leaves are large and compound, bearing ovate leaflets. The 

 flowers, which are dark purple (white in some species), are borne 

 in long racemes. The most important parts of the plant from 

 a feeding standpoint are the pods, together with their seeds. 

 Mature pods carry from three to five marbled brown and gray 

 seeds. The pods are somewhat constricted between the seeds 

 and are covered with a velvety pubescence. Another important 

 agronomic character is dehiscence of pod. The Lyon, which has 

 pods nearly free from hair, scatters its seed when ripe, the 

 Florida velvet bean does not. Pods of different varieties also 

 differ in the degree of susceptibility to rot when in contact with 

 moist soil. The pods of Yokohama velvet bean, from Japan, 

 decay very easily. 



Belling, 1 of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 has made a study of the inheritance of some of the characters of 

 the velvet bean. He crossed the Florida velvet bean extensively 

 with Lyon bean and to a lesser extent with Yokohama and China 

 velvet beans. The Florida bean has a pubescence of whitish 

 stiff hairs on its leaf buds and young shoots while the ripe pods 

 are covered with brownish black, woolly, flattened hairs mixed 

 with a few stiff hairs. These hairs average 1 mm. in length. 



1 See BELLING (1912a, 1913, 1914a,6, 1915a,6). 



