hyacinth bean

2 definitions found

hyacinth bean - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Hyacinth \Hy"a*cinth\, n. [L. hyacinthus a kind of flower, prob.
     the iris, gladiolus, or larkspur, also a kind of gem, perh.
     the sapphire; as, a proper name, Hyacinthus, a beautiful
     Laconian youth, beloved by Apollo, fr. Gr. ?, ?: cf. F.
     hyacinthe. Cf. Jacinth. The hyacinth was fabled to have
     sprung from the blood of Hyacinthus, who was accidentally
     slain by Apollo.]
     1. (Bot.)
        (a) A bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, bearing
            beautiful spikes of fragrant flowers. Hyacinthus  orientalis
             is a common variety.
        (b) A plant of the genus Camassia (Camassia Farseri),
            called also Eastern camass; wild hyacinth.
        (c) The name also given to Scilla Peruviana, a
            Mediterranean plant, one variety of which produces
            white, and another blue, flowers; -- called also, from
            a mistake as to its origin, Hyacinth of Peru.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Min.) A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem.
        See Zircon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Hyacinth bean (Bot.), a climbing leguminous plant
        (Dolichos Lablab), related to the true bean. It has dark
        purple flowers and fruit.
        [1913 Webster]

hyacinth bean - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  hyacinth bean
      n 1: perennial twining vine of Old World tropics having
           trifoliate leaves and racemes of fragrant purple pea-like
           flowers followed by maroon pods of edible seeds; grown as
           an ornamental and as a vegetable on the Indian
           subcontinent; sometimes placed in genus Dolichos [syn:
           hyacinth bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Egyptian bean
           , Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab]