'Hyacinth bean' definitions:
Definition of 'hyacinth bean'
From: WordNet
noun
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]
Definition of 'Hyacinth bean'
From: GCIDE
- 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]