Vicia faba
Ancient legume cultivated for food and as a cover crop.
Vicia faba, commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption and as a cover crop, with varieties used for animal feed called field bean, tic bean, or tick bean.
- type
- Flowering plant species
- family
- Fabaceae
- height
- 0.5 to 1.8 metres
- chromosome_number
- Diploid (2n) = 12
- genome_size
- 13 GB
- known_for
- Cultivated as a food crop and cover crop; associated with favism in individuals with G6PDD
Lore & Background
Vicia faba is a stiffly erect annual plant with square stems and pinnate, glaucous leaves lacking tendrils. Its flowers are white with black spots on the wing petals, though crimson-flowered varieties exist, and they emit a strong sweet scent attractive to pollinators. The fruit is a leathery pod, green maturing to dark blackish-brown, containing 3–8 seeds; modern food cultivars have larger pods and seeds than the wild species.
Reader's Guide
Vicia faba has a long tradition in Old World agriculture, being among the easiest to grow and one of the most ancient cultivated plants, though its wild ancestor is unknown. It is valued for its nitrogen-fixing ability and high hardiness, tolerating harsh cold, high salinity, and clay soils. The plant is susceptible to various pests and diseases, including the chocolate spot fungus Botrytis fabae, the parasitic plant Orobanche crenata, and the black bean aphid Aphis fabae. Broad beans contain levodopa and the alkaloid glycoside vicine, which can trigger hemolytic crises in individuals with favism, a condition linked to G6PDD. The beans are commonly consumed in many cuisines, with the outer seed coat removed for raw or cooked use; young pods can be eaten whole.
Did You Know?
- The genome of Vicia faba is one of the largest among diploid field crops, containing 13 GB of DNA.
- Unlike most other vetches, Vicia faba leaves do not have tendrils for climbing.
- The plant can withstand harsh and cold climates and can be grown in soils with high salinity.
- Some people have favism, a hemolytic response to consuming broad beans, linked to the metabolic disorder G6PDD.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Vicia faba?
Vicia faba is a flowering plant species in the Fabaceae (pea and bean) family, widely known by the common names broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean. It is a diploid organism with 12 chromosomes and a genome spanning roughly 13 gigabases.
What are Vicia faba's powers or role?
It functions as a food crop for people, a soil-building cover crop, and a livestock feed source sold under names like field bean or tick bean. As a member of the legume family, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen, naturally enriching the soil around its roots.
How does Vicia faba's story end?
Being an annual legume, Vicia faba completes its entire life cycle within a single growing season, maturing its characteristic broad beans before the plant dies back. The harvested seeds then serve as the starting point for the next generation.
More in Plants & Crops 1-17
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