Winged Bean
psophocarpus tetragonolobus

days to maturity: 75 days
plant spacing: 1 plant per square foot, trellised
sunlight requirement: 8 - 14 hours
look out for: mites and aphids in new growth
harvest notes: harvest beans when tender, about 6” long
season: fall, winter, spring, summer


While its hard to pick a “favorite legume” we for sure know that ours is the frilly and delicious Winged Bean. While this 4 sided ruffled bean may look too crazy to be food, its known commonly as “asparagus bean” because its flavor is so similar to the revered asparagus shoot. This tropical perennial does more than just make crazy lookin’ beans.... every part of this fast growing legume is edible. Its tuberous root is eaten as a starch cooked or raw, its leaves are eaten like spinach, the periwinkle flowers are sweet and edible, and the bean is edible raw or cooked as a green pod, or cooked as a shelled bean. Expect this bean plant to get quite large as it matures, so either give it a track of fence to grow on, or a substantial trellis. Allow a few pods to dry on the plant and they can be cracked open for next years seed stock.