Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens)

The Velvet Bean is a tropical legume and annual climbing shrub native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia.  This vine is largely cultivated for the medicinal benefit of it's seeds.  Velvet Bean seeds contain the substance dopamine, or L-dopa, a substance that is used as a first-line treatment for Parkinson's disease.  Seeds also contain substances that have anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and anti-oxidant properties.

Velvet Bean produces white and lavender flower panicles and large clusters of deep-purple hairy bean pods that encapsulate the dark black medicinal seeds.  The Velvet Bean vine has extremely long climbing ability and reach.