Mucuna
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 Flowers of Mucuna gigantea
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Mucuna argyrophylla |
Mucuna is a genus of 33 accepted species of climbing vines and shrubs of the family|family Fabaceae, found worldwide in the woodlands of tropical areas. The leaves are 3-palmate, alternate or spiraled, and the flowers are pea-like but larger, with distinctive curved petals, and occurring in racemes.
Several species, such as the New Guinea creeper and Mucuna pruriens have brought into cultivation, although at temperatures below about 10 °C they need to be grown indoors.
It is of some interest as a cover crop for tropical areas, and is a food crop in eastern Nigeria, although L-dopa content makes it less desirable.
Several Mucuna species are used as a food plant by caterpillars of the Morpho butterfly of Central and South America.
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