Urad dal (Vigna mungo)

Urad dal (Vigna mungo) is a plant species in the Fabaceae family. It is an annual herb that grows upright—sometimes twining—reaching a height of 100 cm. The plant is hairy, possesses a well-developed taproot, and features a stem that branches extensively from the base and is longitudinally grooved. It thrives at elevations of up to 1,800 meters, in average temperatures of 25–35°C, with an annual rainfall of 600–1,000 mm, in well-drained soil with a pH of 6–7.

The leaves are arranged alternately and consist of three leaflets. They feature peltate, ovate stipules, petioles 6–20 cm in length, and curved, sickle-shaped stipels. The leaflets are ovate or rhombic-ovate, measuring 4–10 cm in length and 2–7 cm in width, with entire margins and acuminate (tapering) tips.

The inflorescence is a pseudo-raceme, emerging from the leaf axils, with a peduncle (inflorescence stalk) up to 18 cm long. The flowers are bisexual and papilionaceous (pea-like). The bracteoles are linear to lanceolate and longer than the calyx. The calyx is bell-shaped. The corolla is yellow; the standard (banner) petal is 12–16 mm wide, the wing petals are roughly the same length as the standard, and the keel petals are spirally coiled with a horn-like appendage at the tip. There are 10 stamens—nine are fused together, while one remains free. The ovary is superior, and the style is spirally curved.

The fruit is a cylindrical pod, 4–10 cm long and 0.5 cm wide; 1,000 seeds weigh approximately 15–60 g. The pods grow upright or nearly upright, are covered in long hairs, and terminate in a short, hooked beak. Each pod contains 4–10 ellipsoid seeds, each about 5 mm long, with squared ends and a prominent, concave hilum. The seeds are typically black or speckled, and sometimes green. Germination is epigeal.

The pods, seeds, and sprouts are consumed as legumes, either directly or after processing (whole or split). The seeds are boiled or roasted. They can also be ground into flour for use in cakes, bread, and porridge. This seed flour is sometimes used as a soap substitute, leaving the skin soft and smooth. Green pods are consumed as a cooked vegetable. The pods, pod husks, and leaves are used as livestock fodder. This species is also cultivated as a ground cover and green manure. The seeds possess suppurative (pus-inducing), cooling, and astringent properties; when crushed, they can be applied as a compress to abscesses.

Per 100 g, the seeds contain 8.6 g of water, 1470 kJ (351 kcal) of energy, 25.1 g of protein, 1.8 g of fat, 61.0 g of carbohydrates, 4.4 g of crude fiber, 196 mg of calcium (Ca), 260 mg of magnesium (Mg), 575 mg of phosphorus (P), 6.8 mg of iron (Fe), 3.1 mg of zinc (Zn), 114 IU of vitamin A, 0.36 mg of thiamin, 0.28 mg of riboflavin, 1.8 mg of niacin, 0.28 mg of vitamin B6, 628 μg of folate, and 4.8 mg of ascorbic acid. The essential amino acid content per gram of seeds includes 65 mg of tryptophan, 415 mg of lysine, 91 mg of methionine, 365 mg of phenylalanine, 217 mg of threonine, 351 mg of valine, 518 mg of leucine, and 319 mg of isoleucine (Haytowitz & Matthews, 1986). The seeds exhibit anti-atherogenic activity in guinea pigs.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Subtribe: Phaseolinae
Genus: Vigna Savi in Nuovo Giorn. Lett., ser. 3, 8: 113 (1824)
Species: Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper in Kew Bull. 11: 128 (1956)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Azukia muogo (L.) Masam. in Sci. Rep. Kanazawa Univ., Biol. 3: 140 (1955)
Phaseolus mungo L. in Mant. Pl.: 101 (1767)
Rudua mungo (L.) Maek. in Jap. J. Bot. 15: 114 (1955)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Phaseolus aureus Zuccagni in Cent. Observ. Pl. 1: 38 (1806)
Phaseolus chlorospermus Ten. in Index Seminum (NAP, Neapolitano) 1829: 17 (1829)
Phaseolus gibbosus Pi.Savi in Index Seminum (PAV, Ticinensis) 1839: 3 (1839)
Phaseolus glabrescens Steud. in Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 2: 317 (1841)
Phaseolus hernandesii Savi in Nuovo Giorn. Lett., ser. 3, 3: 310 (1822)
Phaseolus hernandesii var. longepedunculatus Hassk. in Flora 25(2, Beibl. 1): 50 (1842)
Phaseolus hirtus Retz. in Observ. Bot. 3: 38 (1783)
Phaseolus minoomoo Roxb. ex Wight & Arn. in Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 1: 246 (1834)
Phaseolus pisiformis Schrad. ex Steud. in Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 2: 317 (1841)
Phaseolus roxburghii Wight & Arn. in Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 1: 245 (1834)
Phaseolus subvolubilis Buch.-Ham. in N.Wallich, Numer. List: n.° 5605 (1831)
Phaseolus viridissimus Ten. ex Miq. in Fl. Ned. Ind. 1(1): 197 (1855)
Phaseolus wightianus Graham in N.Wallich, Numer. List: n.° 5591 (1831)
Vigna mungo var. silvestris Lukoki, Maréchal & Otoul in Bull. Jard. Bot. Natl. Belg. 50: 390 (1980)
Vigna silvestris (Lukoki, Maréchal & Otoul) Aitawade, K.V.Bhat & S.R.Yadav in Rheedea 22: 22 (2012)

PUBLICATIONS

Baksh-Comeau, Y., Maharaj, S.S., Adams, C.D., Harris, S.A., Filer, D.L. & Hawthorne, W.D. (2016). An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Trinidad and Tobago with analysis of vegetation types and botanical 'hotspots'. Phytotaxa 250: 1-431.

Balslev, H. & Chantaranothai, P. (2023). Flora of Thailand 4(3.3.): 489-715. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.

Choudhary, R.K., Srivastava, R.C., Das, A.K. & Lee, J. (2012). Floristic diversity assessment and vegetation analysis of Upper Siang district of eastern Himalaya in North East India. Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy 42: 222-246.

Dar, G.H. & Govaerts, R.H.A. (2025). Flora of Kashmir Himalaya: Sind Valley 1: 1-606. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India.

Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

George, A.S., Orchard, A.E. & Hewson, H.J. (eds.) (1993). Oceanic islands 2. Flora of Australia 50: 1-606. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Knapp, W.M. & Naczi, R.F.C. (2021). Vascular plants of Maryland, USA. A comprehensive account of the state's botanical diversity. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 113: 1-151.

Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.

Kumar, S. & Sane, P.V. (2003). Legumes of South Asia. A Checklist: 1-536. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Lock, J.M. & Ford, C.S. (2004). Legumes of Malesia a Check-List: 1-295. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Lock, J.M. & Heald, J. (1994). Legumes of Indo-China a check-list: 1-164. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-List: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Onana, J.M. (2011). The vascular plants of Cameroon a taxonomic checklist with IUCN assessments: 1-195. National herbarium of Cameroon, Yaoundé.

Rechinger, K.H. & al. (1984). Papilionaceae II. Flora Iranica 157: 1-499. Naturhistorisches Museums Wien.

Smith, A.C. (1985). Flora Vitiensis Nova. A new flora for Fiji (Spermatophytes only) 3: 1-758. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai.

Villaseñor, J.L. (2016). Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559-902.

Zhu, X.Y., Zhang, R.P. & He, Y.L. (eds.) (2021). An inventory of legume species diversity of Myanmar: 1-297. China Minzu university press.

VERNACULAR NAME

Assamese: Matimah, Matikolai
Bengali: মাশকালাই - মাশকালাই ডাল Mashakalai, Mashkalai dal
Burmese: မတ်ပဲ Matpe
Chinese (simplified): 黑吉豆 - 黑小豆
Chinese (traditional): 黑吉豆
Dogri: Mah di dal
English: Urad dal, Black gram
Gujarati: Adad, Alad
Hindi: उड़द दाल - उड़द - उर्द - उर्दी दाल Urad dal, Urad, Urd, Urdi dal
Indonesia: Lentil hitam
Japanese: ケツルアズキ
Java: Lentil ireng
Kannada: Uddu, Uddina bele, Urdu
Konkani: Udid, Urd
Malayalam: Ulunnu, Uzhunnu
Manipuri: Shagol-hawai
Marathi: Masha, Udid
Meitei: Sagol hawai
Nepali: कालो दाल - मास Kalo dal, Mas
Odia: Biri ḍali
Punjabi: Mãha, Mash di dal
Russian: Урд
Sanskrit: Uḍida, Mashah
Sinhala: උඳු Undu
Slovak: Vigna čierna
Tamil: உளுந்து - உளுந்து - உளுத்தம் பருப்பு Uluntu, Ulundu, Ulutham paruppu
Telugu: Masamu, Minumu, Uddulu, Minumulu, Uddi pappu
Thai: ถั่วเขียวผิวดำ - ถั่วแขก
Tulu: Urdu salayi
Urdu: ارد مونگ - ماش کی دال Arad mung, Mash ki dal
Vietnamese: Đậu muồng ăn

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