Plants & Crops Codexery

Vicia faba

A hardy, ancient legume with a broad pod and a rich history.

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Vicia faba, the broad bean, is a diploid species with a genome of 13 GB of DNA, one of the largest among diploid field crops.[1] Its flowers are 1 to 2.5 cm long with white standard petals, white wing petals bearing a true black spot, and white keel petals.[2] A crimson-flowered variant of the broad bean, which was nearly lost, has been preserved.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeEudicots
  4. CladeRosids
  5. OrderFabales
  6. FamilyFabaceae
  7. SubfamilyFaboideae
  8. GenusVicia
  9. SpeciesVicia faba

Named by L.

Close relatives

Other species of Vicia with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Vicia faba (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where the vicia faba has been recorded

Where the vicia faba has been recorded41 mapped locations from 62,809 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Lower Galilee, AhihudLower GalileeAhihud

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (62,809 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 504 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Species
faba

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

Broad beans are among the most ancient plants in cultivation and among the easiest to grow.[4] Radiocarbon dating suggests domestication may have begun as early as 8250 BCE.[5] Bees and other pollinators are drawn to the blossoms' powerful sweet fragrance.[3] The genome is predicted to encode 34,221 proteins, with the majority of its 13 GB of DNA arising from the multiplication of retrotransposons and satellite repeats.[1]

Faba bean remains that were carbonised and of domestic origin were found at three Neolithic locations in Israel's Lower Galilee.[4] Elevated humidity levels are associated with a greater incidence of numerous diseases.[6] When developing cultivars intended for denser planting, it is necessary to assess them for potential disease issues.[6] Breeding programs for V. faba must prioritise tolerance to diseases.[6]

What the specialist sources record

A 2023 Guardian article reports that University of Reading scientists propose using broad bean flour in bread as a major change to UK food.[7] The same article states that students will be asked to rate products made or enriched with faba bean, such as bread, flatbread, and hummus.[7] It is hoped that faba bean will improve satiety and provide enhanced nutritional benefits in enjoyable products.[7] GBIF records 109,871 occurrence records for Vicia faba as of October 2026.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jayakodi, "The giant diploid faba genome unlocks variation in a global protein crop", Nature, March 2023, p. 652–9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Core Historical Literature of Agriculture", Chla.library.cornell.edu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Daughter of the Soil", Daughter of the Soil; Somerville, "Honeybees in faba bean pollination", Agnote, March 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kosterin, "The lost ancestor of the broad bean (Vicia faba L.) and the origin of plant cultivation in the Near East", Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding, 2014, p. 831–840; Caracuta, "14,000-year-old seeds indicate the Levantine origin of the lost progenitor of faba bean", Scientific Reports, 2016 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Caracuta, "The onset of faba bean farming in the Southern Levant", Scientific Reports, 13 October 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Vicia faba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Etemadi, "Agronomy, Nutritional Value, and Medicinal Application of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.)", Horticultural Plant Journal, 2019, p. 170–182, See p. 172 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Hall, "Beans in toast: UK should switch to broad bean bread, say researchers", The Guardian, 18 January 2023. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  8. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Vicia faba (taxon key 2974832). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Vicia faba (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: To which biological family does the Vicia faba belong: Violaceae, Poaceae, Verbenaceae or Fabaceae? · More science trivia

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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