Lablab purpureus

Also known as Egyptian kidney bean, dolichos bean, Bataw and Australian pea, among others. This bean is native to Africa where the whole plant is edible. The leaves are eaten like spinach, the flowers and immature pods are eaten as vegetables, the roots can be baked or boiled and eaten, the dry beans are used to made tempeh and tofu.

The vines can grow up to 2m tall, are purple in colour, and have beautiful pink/purple flowers. The plants are drought tolerant and can source water from the soil from at least 2m deep. They are also tolerant of high temperatures and can tolerate lower temperatures for short periods.

Standard packet contains approx. 25 seeds

Petite packet contains approx. 10 seeds

Jenny	08/05/2024
I thought I wasn’t going to get much of a harvest off these, but was pleasantly surprised. They only started flowering way after the other beans were ready to pick and they had quite a lot of mildew on the leaves and pods. They survived the hideous heat and drought with minimal coddling and in the end we had a really satisfying harvest. My sister-in-law calls them “Oreo beans” because of the white stripe and the name has stuck.