Fava bean (Vicia faba)

Fava bean (Vicia faba) is a plant species in the Fabaceae family. It is an annual herb that grows upright and rigid, reaching heights of up to 1.8 meters, with 2–4 stems that are square in cross-section. The leaves are 10–25 cm long, pinnately compound, and consist of 2–7 leaflets with a glaucous (waxy, bluish-green) appearance. Unlike some other legumes, these leaves lack tendrils for climbing surrounding vegetation.

The flowers are 1–2.5 cm long and consist of five petals: white standard petals, white wing petals with black spots, and white keel petals. They emit a strong, sweet fragrance. The fruit is a broad, leathery pod, 5–25 cm long and 2–3 cm thick. Young pods are green, turning brownish-black as they mature; their surfaces are covered in a dense layer of fine hairs. Each pod contains 3–8 seeds, which may be round, flattened, or oblong—measuring 5–25 mm in length, up to 15 mm in width, and 5–10 mm in thickness.

V. faba has a diploid chromosome number (2n) of 12 (six pairs of homologous chromosomes). Five of these pairs are acrocentric, while one pair is metacentric. The diploid genome contains 13 GB of DNA, largely formed through the amplification of retrotransposons and satellite repeats. It is estimated to contain 34,221 protein-coding genes.

Young pods and leaves can be consumed raw or cooked as green vegetables. Mature seeds are steamed, boiled, or fried—often seasoned with salt and/or other spices—to create a crunchy, savory snack.

Raw fava beans contain 11% water, 58% carbohydrates, 26% protein, and 2% fat. Per 100 grams, it provides 1,425 kJ (341 kcal) of energy and various essential nutrients, each accounting for 20% or more of the Daily Value (DV). This includes folate (26% DV) and minerals such as manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron (52–77% DV), as well as B vitamins (19–48% DV).

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Fabeae
Genus: Vicia L. in Sp. Pl.: 734 (1753)
Subgenus: Vicia
Section: Vicia
Species: Vicia faba L. in Sp. Pl.: 737 (1753)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Faba faba (L.) House in Bull. New York State Mus. Nat. Hist. 254: 457 (1924)
Faba vulgaris Moench in Methodus: 150 (1794)
Orobus faba (L.) Brot. in Fl. Lusit. 2: 147 (1804)
Vicia esculenta Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 339 (1796)
Vicia vulgaris Gray in Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. 2: 617 (1821 publ. 1822)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Faba bona subsp. equina (Medik.) Soják in Čas. Nár. Mus., Odd. Přír. 152: 21 (1983)
Faba equina Medik. in Vorles. Churpfälz. Phys.-Ökon. Ges. 2: 360 (1787)
Faba major Desf. in Tabl. École Bot.: 196 (1804)
Faba major var. longisiliqua Poit. in Bon Jard. 1837: 233 (1837)
Faba major var. minor Poit. (1837)
Faba major var. viridis Poit. (1837)
Faba minor Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 3: 323 (1832)
Faba sativa Bernh. in Syst. Verz. Erf.: 250 (1800)
Faba vulgaris var. agrorum Alef. in Landw. Fl.: 32 (1866)
Faba vulgaris var. albida Alef. in Bonplandia (Hannover) 10: 349 (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. albiflora Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. arcuata Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. atra Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. atriflora Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. atropurpurea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. aurorea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. circularis Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. equina (Medik.) Lej. in A.L.S.Lejeune & R.J.Courtois, Comp. Fl. Belg. 3: 61 (1836)
Faba vulgaris var. flabellata Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. fuliginiflora Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. hortensis Lej. (1836)
Faba vulgaris var. humillima Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. macrocarpa Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. macrochloris Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. macrosperma Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. major Nois. in Man. Compl. Jard. 2: 370 (1825)
Faba vulgaris var. mazagana Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. mediolana Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. megalosperma Alef. (1861)
Faba vulgaris var. microchloris Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris subsp. minor Dostál in Folia Mus. Rerum Nat. Bohemiae Occid., Bot. 21: 8 (1984)
Faba vulgaris var. minor Mérat in Nouv. Fl. Env. Paris: 284 (1812)
Faba vulgaris var. nebulosa Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. nebulosa-violacea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. nitidissima Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. notatopurpurea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. orbicularis Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. paucijuga Alef. (1866)
Faba vulgaris var. picea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. pliniana Trab. in Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 3: 118 (1911)
Faba vulgaris var. purpurea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. purpuriflora Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. quisquilina Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. sanguinea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. schlagintweitii Alef. (1866)
Faba vulgaris var. subviridis Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. superba Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. tockeri Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. violacea Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. viridinana Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. viridis Nois. (1825)
Faba vulgaris var. viridissima Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. viridopaca Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. waterlooensis Alef. (1862)
Faba vulgaris var. windsoriana Alef. (1862)
Vicia equina (Medik.) Steud. in Nomencl. Bot. 1: 881 (1821)
Vicia faba subsp. equina (Medik.) Schübl. & G.Martens in Fl. Würtemberg: 476 (1834)
Vicia faba var. equina (Medik.) Pers. in Syn. Pl. 2: 308 (1807)
Vicia faba var. minor Beck in Fl. Nieder-Österreich: 873 (1892)
Vicia faba subsp. minor Rothm. in Feddes Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 64: 6 (1963)
Vicia faba var. minor Peterm. in Fl. Lips. Excurs.: 549 (1838)
Vicia faba var. pliniana Trab. in Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 20: 21 (1929)
Vicia pliniana (Trab.) Muratova in Trudy Prikl. Bot., Prilož. 50: 73 (1931)
Vicia porphyrea Rchb. in Fl. Germ. Excurs. 2: 532 (1832)
Vicia vulgaris var. equina Gray (1821 publ. 1822)

PUBLICATIONS

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VERNACULAR NAME

Arabic: فول - باقلاء
Asturian: Fhaba de mayo
Chinese (simplified): 蚕豆
Chinese (traditional): 蠶豆
Czech: Bob obecný
Danish: Hestebønne
Dutch: Tuinboon
English: Fava bean, Broad bean, Faba bean, Field bean, Tic bean, Tick bean, Horse bean
Estonian: Põlduba
Finnish: Härkäpapu
French: Fève
German: Saubohne
Greek: Κουκιά - Φάβα
Hebrew: בקיה - פול
Hindi: बकला Bakla
Hungarian: Lóbab
Indonesia: Kara oncet, Kacang babi, Kacang dieng
Italian: Fava
Japanese: シガツマメ - ソラマメ - トウマメ - ナツマメ - 空豆
Java: Kara oncet, Kacang babi, Kacang dieng
Lithuanian: Paprastoji pupa
Manipuri: Hawaimubi
Nepali: बकुला Bakulaa
Norwegian: Bønnevikke
Polish: Bób, Wyka bób
Portuguese: Fava, Faveira
Russian: Боб садовый - Русские бобы
Slovak: Bôb obyčajný
Spanish: Haba
Swedish: Bondböna
Tamil: அவரை Avarai
Thai: ถั่วปากอ้า
Turkish: Bakla
Ukrainian: Біб

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
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