Hyacinth Beans and Field Peas

are they the same or different?

Hyacinth Beans belong to the Leguminosae family or the pea family (Lablab Purpureus). It is a vining plant that produces these beautiful purple flowers which attract a lot of pollinators and birds. My favorite among them is the hummingbird. I sense their presence by the mechanical sound their wings make by flapping so fast.

I prefer to harvest early in the morning; that is the same time the bees, birds, and other insects are also busy looking for food. They do not like me nosing around in the plants but somehow we all manage to get along :)

The Tamil name for Hyacinth bean is called “avaraikkai” அவரைக்காய். This is the same name that people in Karnataka call the field beans. So when I say “avaraikkai” they think of “mochai” which is what field beans are called in Tamil.

There are several varieties of hyacinth beans, also called lablab beans and the seed pod comes in several colors - light green, dark green, and purple. In the US the purple colored bean is more popular and grown as an ornamental. What a waste of perfectly good produce!

These beans are harvested when they are still tender and the peas inside the pod have not matured. Once the peas mature the outer pod becomes tough and chewy and inedible. Only the peas are good to eat.

Field Beans are also called Hyacinth Beans or dolichos and that is where it all starts to get confusing. These beans also belong to the Leguminosae family. The flowers are very similar to the hyacinth beans but white. These are grown for the beans themselves and not the outer bean pod. These are sold in stores as dried beans but the fresh ones taste so much better. They are found in brown, yellow, and black colors.

The plant is a bushy plant that produces a clutch of beans at the tip. There is a small window when the beans mature to harvest or they tend to dry out pretty quickly. High in protein and is also used as fodder for cattle.

I kept looking for bush varieties of the vigorous flat hyacinth vining plants thinking they were easier to manage but the truth is, it is harder to harvest a bush variety bean plant bent over because of the weight than a vining plant.

There are also flat hyacinth bush variety plants which are created as a hybrid between the vining flat hyacinth and field peas.

In the coming days, we will be harvesting both types of these beans.