Sword bean (katana bean) - Sword bean (English spelling)

Japanese: ナタマメ(刀豆∥鉈豆) - ナタマメ（英語表記）sword bean

A perennial herb of the legume family native to tropical Asia, cultivated for its edible young pods. In temperate zones, it is an annual crop. Its name comes from the hatchet-like shape of its large pods, and it is also known as the hatchet. The leaf blade consists of three leaflets, which are pointed, oval, 10-18 cm long and 6-14 cm wide. The petiole is shorter than the leaf blade. The flowers are relatively large, 3.5 cm long, white or red. The pods are 15-25 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, and contain 8-16 seeds (beans). The beans are 2.5-3.5 cm long and red or white (a variety called white horn bean).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

若莢（さや）を食用とするために栽培される熱帯アジア原産のマメ科の多年草。温帯では一年生の作物となる。大きな莢の形を鉈にみたてた名で，別名タテハキ。葉身は3枚の小葉からなり，小葉は先のとがった卵形で，長さ10～18cm，幅6～14cm。葉柄は葉身部よりも短い。花は比較的大きく長さ3.5cmで白または紅色。莢は長さ15～25cm，幅3～5cmで，中に8～16個の種子(豆)がはいる。豆は長さ2.5～3.5cmで，紅色もしくは白色(シロナタマメという変種)。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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