Mung Bean (Vigna radiata)

Family: Fabaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Vigna radiata, or commonly known as Mung Bean, is an erect or semi-erect annual legume about 130 cm in height with a well-developed taproot. It is also known as moong bean, green gram, or mung. It is mainly cultivated as food crop in India, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The leaves are dark green and have three leaflets each. Flowers are pale yellow and small occurring in clusters of 10-20. The pods are black and straight.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Mature seed - cooked or sprouted. The dried seeds are boiled and used in a wide range of ways. For example, they can be eaten as a vegetable, added to soups and stews or they can be fermented into Indian dishes such as idli. — Mature seed - cooked or sprouted.; The dried seeds are boiled and used in a wide range of ways.; For example, they can be eaten as a vegetable, added to soups and stews or they can be fermented into Indian dishes such as idli.; The seed is often also sprouted and either used in salads or cooked.

Habitat & North American Range

Not known in a truly wild situation. Naturalized in open wastelands, roadsides, thicket margins, at elevations up to 500 metres in southern China. (Zone 10)