Scientific Name:
Vicia faba
Pronunciation:
VISS-ee-uh FAY-buh
Common Name:
broad bean, fava bean
Family Name:
Fabaceae
Plant Type:
Annual
Key ID Features:
Habit stiffly upright with sturdy stems that are strongly ribbed and squarish in cross-section; leaves grey-green, pinnately compound with 2-7 sessile leaflets, tendrils lacking; flowers with 5 petals (1 standard petal white, the wing petals white with a black spot, and the keel petals are white); fruit a broad, leathery pod, green maturing to blackish-brown, with a densely downy surface, and containing 3-8 flattened seeds up to 15mm long.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Columnar
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
0.7 - 1.3m
Mature Spread:
0.6 - 1.0m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Africa
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Compound Leaf:
Odd-pinnate
Colour in Fall:
Yellow
Shapes:
Elliptic, Ovate
Apices:
Apiculate, Rounded
Bases:
Rounded
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Leaflet shape and number (2 - 7) varies with cultivar.
Inflorescence Type:
Flowers solitary
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Bilabiate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White
Flower Time at Peak:
Apr, May
Fruit Type:
Legume
Fruit Colour:
Green, Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Jul
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green
Organ Modifications:
Root nodules (N-fixing)
Pest Susceptibility:
Aphids or adelgids, Beetles or weevils, Fungal leaf spot, Thrips
