PHASEOLUS TOROSUS — VICIA FABA. 



PHASEOLUS TOROSUS, Roxb. 



Guraush, guransh (Kumaun). 



Natural order Leguminosce. An erect, hairy, almost branchless annual with trifoliolate leaves. 

 Leaflets oval. Racemes short, congested. Flowers pale yellow, expanding late in the day. Pods 

 reflexed, cylindrical, torose, 6-7 seeded. Seeds smooth, cream-coloured. It is mentioned in the 

 Flora of British India as probably being a cultivated form of Ph. calcaratus of Roxburgh. 



I have not seen this plant in cultivation, but Atkinson says that it is " grown at 

 a higher elevation than any other pulse (6,500 feet), chiefly in Kali Kumaun, but also 

 in Almora and the Bhagirathi Valley up to 4,500 feet. He also states that there are 

 two varieties, one with red, and the other with cream-coloured seeds. It ripens in 

 October. 



The scarlet runner (Phaseolus multiflorus, TVilld.) and the French haricot or 

 kidney bean {Ph. vulgaris, L.) are occasionally grown in native gardens, but chiefly as 

 pot herbs. The latter thrives best on the hills. 



VICIA FABA, Im«.+ 



Far. MICROSPERMA. 



Bakla, seo-chana (Plains) ; chastang, chashtong (Hills). 



Natural order Leguminosce. This is a remarkable acclimatized form of the field bean, from 

 which it differs by its smaller leaflets, smaller pods, and much smaller seeds, which are round, almost 

 black when ripe, and have more the appearance of a large dark-coloured pea. It is also more pro- 

 lific, a much larger proportion of flowers becoming fertilized than is the case with the English bean. 



As far as I have been able to ascertain, this plant is cultivated chiefly in the north- 

 western districts of these Provinces and in Garhwal and Kumaun, where it may be 

 met with up to 8,000 or 9,000 feet. In the Punjab and in Kashmir it is frequently 

 grown, and is mentioned by Stewart and others as an ordinary spring crop. Eoxburgh 

 also states that a small smooth brown-seeded variety is found in a cultivated state in 

 Nepal. 



The young pods are eaten as a vegetable, and are sold in the Saharanpur bazar at 

 G pies per seer. 



* References :— FL Br. Ind., II., 201 ; Roxb., Fl. Ind. (Clarke's Ed.), 558 j Atkinson, Him. Diet., I, 695 ; Watt, 

 Diet. Econom. Trod., VI., Part I., 186. 



t Roxb., PL Ind. (Clarke's Ed.), 566 ; Roylo, 111. Him. Bot, 200 ; Atkinson, Him. Dist., I., 694 ; DC, L'Orig. PI. 

 Cult., 253. 



