Appearance
''Mucuna urens'' is a large, vigorous, much-branched, twining liana that climbs into the tree canopy. The stems are thick and soft, and bear alternate, trifoliate leaves with petioles up to 15 cm long. The leaflets are ovate or elliptical, and up to 15 cm long; the lateral leaflets are somewhat oblique, and all leaflets have rounded bases and apiculate tips.The inflorescences grow laterally or in the axils of the leaves and are pendulous racemes with peduncles up to a metre long, with the flowering part near the tip. The calyx has a 1 cm long tube and the petals are thick, waxy and yellowish. The standard is slightly longer than the wings and keel. The flowers are followed by transversely-ridged, oblong pods about 15 cm × 5 cm bearing orange-brown bristly stinging hairs; the pods have a suture underneath and two longitudinal, undulating wings. The one to four seeds are rounded, almost surrounded by hilum and 2.5 cm or more in diameter.
Distribution
This liana is native to the West Indies, Central and South America, its range extending from Panama to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil.Habitat
It grows in forests and woodland at altitudes of up to 1,800 m.References:
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