Broad Bean (Horse Bean or Field Bean)
Vicia faba (Syn. Faba vulgaris, Faba sativa, Vicia fava)
Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Longpod, Pigeon Bean, Tick Bean, Tic Bean, Windsor Bean;
Féverole, (Grosse) Fève, Fève de Marais (French); Ackerbohne, Saubohne,
Puffbohne(German); Haricot Caballar, Haricot Común, Haba Común (Spanish);
Bondbona (Sweden); Hestebonne (Norway); Pacae (Peru); Feijão de Cavalo, F. de
Porco, F.Miúdo, F.Forrageiro (Portuguese); Atah-bahari, Abeeatah, Alkwhyee,
Atah-barativeri, Bagila, Bakela, Baldenga, Baldunga (Ethiopia); Gutate (Tigray,
Ethiopia); Foul Masri (Sudan); Boerboon (South Africa); Double Bean, Katjang
Babi, Ontjet (Indonesia); Baakla (Hindi); Boqoli (Dari)
There are several different types of broad bean, with plants exhibiting great variation
in growth period, yield, plant and seed size, colour of seed and utilisation.
In essence, there are four different groups of varieties of Vicia faba, although
botanists do not always agree on the taxonomy of the broad/horse/field bean:
- var. faba or major—the broad bean;
- var. equina—the horse bean, or “longpod”;
- var. minor—the tick (or “tic”) bean;
largely self-pollinating, unlike the other varieties.
The broad bean is an erect, hardy annual plant, normally 60–180 cm tall, although
some dwarf types are only 30–45 cm tall. It is the most hardy of all the beans, and is
commonly sown in autumn in temperate climates. The plant is easily recognised by
its four-ribbed stem.
Although the seed has a relatively high protein content of 24–33%, in common
with many of the grain legumes it is deficient in the essential amino-acids methionine
and cystine, especially when the grain is baked. Nevertheless, the beans are a good
source of energy (340 calories per 100 mg), fat (1.5%), carbohydrates (49–57%),
fibre (4.5%), calcium (100 mg), iron (6 mg) and Vitamin A (25–100 I.U.). The seed
is large, with about 1–5,000 seeds per kg.
Under certain circumstances the seed can also contain toxic substances which
can cause Favism, a disease characterised by haemolytic anaemia, a disorder of the
blood in which the red blood cells break down. This condition is most commonly
found in Mediterranean and North African countries and in the Middle East. It is
also prevalent in China, and 100 million people are thought to be affected around the
world. Favism can sometimes be caught just by inhaling pollen when walking
through a field where the plants are flowering. Susceptibility to favism is inherited
as a sex-linked trait; the disease is especially threatening to children. Symptoms
include pallor, fatigue, breathlessness, nausea, abdominal and back pain, fever and
chills. Jaundice and dark urine may develop in severe cases, and the disease can be
fatal to children.
China is a major producer of Vicia faba beans, and it is also planted as a winter
crop on the edge of the tropics, in countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Burma, and
at high altitudes in the tropics, such as in Uganda.
var. paucijuga— similar to var. minor, grown mainly in Central Asia; it is