Psophocarpus tetragonolobus or winged bean originated in southeast Asia around Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, India. They are popular in Asian and Indonesia cooking as the entire plant is edible, and tasty. 

 

Winged bean is a perennial with tuberous roots and quadrangular pods that can grow up to 30 cm long with longitudinal wings. The entire plant is edible from the leaves to the flowers, seeds, bean pod, and tuber.

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The young pods are the most often sought out part of the plant when they are less than an inch long, which is often ready after 2-3 months of planting. The tubers contain around 20% protein (National Academy of Sciences 1975) and the seeds also have high protein content at around 29-42% (Harding et al. 1978). The seeds also contains tocoherol, a nutrient which increases vitamin A use. The tubers are used like a potato while the seeds can be ground like flour or used to make a drink similar to coffee and the beans can make a dairy-free milk similar to soy milk.

 

As with most legumes, nodulation is common as the plant readily associates with rhizobia.  

 

Reference: Abberton, Michael; Toafeek Adegoyega, Benjamin Faloye, Rajneesh Paliwal, and Olaniyi Oyatomi. Winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus

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