Taxon: Psophocarpus scandens (Endl.) Verdc.

Summary

Genus:

Psophocarpus

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Phaseoleae

Nomen number:

70522

Place of publication:

Taxon 17:539. 1968

Verified:

06/29/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

7 (1 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Diesingia scandens Endl.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Mucuna comorensis Vatke
Psophocarpus longipedunculatus Hassk.
Stizolobium comorense (Vatke) Piper

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam. Note: cultivated
Jardim e Museu Agricola do Ultramar, Portugal. 1972-. Flora de Sao Tome e Principe.
Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Maxted, N. 1989. A phenetic investigation of the Psophocarpus palustris: P. scandens Complex (Leguminosae, Phaseoleae, Phaseolinae). Kew Bull. 44:731-742.
Pickersgill, B. 1980. Cytology of two species of winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC. and P. scandens (Endl.) Verdc. (Leguminosae). Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 80:279-291. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1980.tb016 65.x. Note: 2n=18
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Verdcourt, B. & P. Halliday. 1978. A revision of Psophocarpus (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae-Phaseoleae). Kew Bull. 33:205.

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	tropical African winged-bean			1	Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Congo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Gabon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Comoros			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil	Bahia	natzd.?	Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Sudan
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Gabon
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Nigeria
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Southern America

BRAZIL: Brazil [Bahia (natzd.?)]

Reference(s)

Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	soil improver		Pickersgill, B. 1980. Cytology of two species of winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC. and P. scandens (Endl.) Verdc. (Leguminosae). Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 80:279-291. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1980.tb016 65.x. Note: 2n=18
Human food	vegetable		Pickersgill, B. 1980. Cytology of two species of winged bean, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC. and P. scandens (Endl.) Verdc. (Leguminosae). Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 80:279-291. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1980.tb016 65.x. Note: 2n=18

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=70522. Accessed 13 May 2026.