Mucuna pruriens (L.)DC.

Accepted

നായ്ക്കുരണ Naikkuran

Mucuna Pruriens, most commonly known as the velvet bean, is a tropical legume with a slender climbing vines that can reach over 15 m in length. Its flowers are usually white, lavender, or purple and hang in clusters. The leaves are usually rhomboid or oblique shaped, ranging in size from 20-25 cm in length and 7.5-12.5 cm in width. The plant also produces clusters of pods containing seeds known as Mucuna beans. The flowers, seedpods, and seeds are covered with reddish-orange hairs. There are two forms of the hairs. The non-stinging hairs are silky, while the stinging hairs, called Mucunain, produce an extremely itchy sensation when coming in contact with them.