Canavalia rosea
A coastal dune-stabilizing, long-lived evergreen legume with fast-growing prostrate stems and year-round pink-lavender blooms that attract pollinators, forming a drought- and salt-spray-tolerant groundcover with long pods and seeds poisonous unless boiled or roasted.
Common Names
Beach Bean, Bay Bean, Coastal Jack Bean, Seaside Jack Bean, Mackenzie Bean
Summary
Beach bean, baybean, or seaside bean is a pantropical coastal vine native to tropical and subtropical regions, a trailing or climbing evergreen perennial with long stems and trifoliate, broad leaflets; pink to purple flowers with white centers are sweetly scented and bloom year-round, forming mats on sand dunes that stabilize the coast, with slender pods containing brown seeds and buoyant seeds enabling ocean dispersal.
Preferring full sun and sandy, well-drained soils, it is drought- and salt-tolerant and well-suited to coastal dunes and beaches; fast-growing and ground-covering, propagation occurs by seed and it serves for dune stabilization and erosion control, ornamental value from showy flowers, and edible uses such as edible young pods and seeds after boiling (flowers edible), with buoyant seeds aiding wide dispersal, though it can be aggressive in landscape.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
6 inches – 9 ft 10 in
Spread
6-40 feet
Hardiness Zones
Zones 9-11
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun. Tolerates partial shade.
Soil Type
Well-drained sandy soil
Soil Drainage
Well-drained sandy soil
Soil pH
6.5, Acid to neutral, Circumneutral–calcareous
Bloom Color
Pink
Bloom Time
Year-round
Foliage Color
Green, with dark green upper surface and paler underside.
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Evergreen broadleaf
Growth Rate
Fast growth.
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Propagation Methods
Seeds and Cuttings
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees and other pollinators
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (Sw.) DC.
- Publication
- Prodr. 2: 404 (1825)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Fabales
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Subfamily
- Papilionoideae
- Genus
- Canavalia
Synonyms
Canavalia rutilans Canavalia apiculata Canavalia baueriana Canavalia emarginata Dolichos emarginatus Canavalia miniata Canavalia obcordata Dolichos maritimus Dolichos miniatus Dolichos obovatus Dolichos obtusifolius Dolichos roseus Canavalia podocarpa Dolichos obcordatus Canavalia obtusifolia var. emarginata Canavalia maritima Canavalia moneta Mucuna rutilans Dolichos ovalifolius Glycine rosea Canavalia obtusifolia var. emarginatus Canavalia arenicola Dolichos littoralis Dolichos rotundifolius Canavalia obtusifolia Clitoria rotundifolia Rhynchosia rosea