What is Broad Bean

1. Morphological characteristics

It has many aliases, including southern beans, vertical beans, Buddha beans, Luohan beans, Hu beans, orchid beans, etc. It is an annual herb with a plant height of about 30-100cm. The main root is relatively short with many fibrous roots on it. The stem is relatively thick and hollow inside. The leaves are triangular-ovate in shape, the leaflets are oval in shape, the corolla is white in color, and the style is densely covered with white soft hairs.

The broad beans we often talk about are the seeds inside the pods. The pods are relatively thick in texture, and the outer color is green in the young stage. The skin turns black when mature. There are about 2-4 seeds inside. The shape is roughly rectangular, a little concave in the middle, with a hilum at one end, and the color is black.

2. Time to market

Generally, fresh broad beans will be available on the market around April every year. Freshly picked broad beans can be used to cook dishes or mixed with rice and steamed. If you don’t have food at the time, you can buy fresh broad beans, dry them in the sun, and then process them into various stir-fried snacks. It is very nutritious, has a very high protein content, and has many functions, but it is not suitable for people with favism.