UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 318 
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Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief -JTW^h-TA, 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
November 18, 1915 
THE BONAVIST, LABLAB, OR HYACINTH BEAN. 
By C. V. Piper, Agrosiologist in Charge, and W. J. Morse, Scientific Assistant, 
Forage-Crop Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Introduction 
Cultural characteristics 
Seed production — '. 
Varietal characters 
Value for human food- 
Page. 
1 
1 
2 
2 
3 
Page. 
Botanical names 4 
Notes on the introduction numbers 
of Dolichos lablab 7 
Literature cited 15 
INTRODUCTION. 
The bonavist is a native of India and has been cultivated since 
ancient times. In tropical and subtropical countries it is generally 
grown for human food, the young pods of some varieties being used 
after the manner of string beans. In India, China, and, formerly at 
least, the West Indies, the dried seeds of certain varieties are also 
used as food. In temperate countries it is more commonly known 
as an ornamental plant, especially the purple-leaved florif erous vari- 
eties, which are often used to grow over trellises or porches. To 
some extent the bonavist has also been used for forage and as a green- 
manure crop. Judging from the reports of early writers its use for 
such purposes in the Southern States was formerly common, but the 
plant is now rarely used there as a field crop. 
CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
In most respects the bonavist is closely comparable to the cowpea, 
but it is more vigorous and more viny. A single plant of some of 
the sorts will produce under favorable conditions at least twice as 
much herbage as a single plant of any cowpea. The stems are 
tougher and more fibrous and the leaves less succulent. Like the 
cowpea, the bonavist is indeterminate in growth, blooming and f ruit- 
8503°— Bull. 318—15 
