Negretia pruriens var. utilis, (Wall. ex Wight) Burck

Wiriadinata, H., Ohashi, H. & Adema, F., 2016, Notes on Malesian Fabaceae (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) 16. The genus Mucuna, Blumea 61 (2), pp. 90-124 : 115-117

b. var. utilis (Wall. ex Wight) Burck

Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. utilis (Wall.ex Wight) Burck (1893) 187; Wilmot-Dear(1984) 62;(1990) 34;(1991b) 249; Wulijarni-Soetjipto & Maligalig (1997) 199. — Mucuna utilis Wall. ex Wight (1840) pl. 280; Miq. (1855) 212. — Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. forma utilis (Wall. ex Wight) K. Heyne (1916) 327. — Type: Wight, Ic. Pl. Ind. Or. 1 (1840) pl. 280.

Marcanthus cochinchinensis Lour. (1790) 461. — Mucuna cochinchinensis (Lour.) A.Chev. (1919) 91. — Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. forma cochinchinensis (Lour.) Backer in Backer & Bakh.f. (1964) 629. — Type: Loureiro s.n. (BM), Cochinchina.

Carpopogon niveus Roxb. [(1814) 54, nom. nud.]; (1832) 285. — Mucuna nivea (Roxb.) Wight & Arn. (1834) 255. — Lectotype ( Wilmot-Dear 1984): Roxburgh drawing 1601 (K).

Carpopogon capitatus Roxb. (1832) 284. — Lectotype ( Wilmot-Dear 1984): Roxburgh drawing 285 (K) (‘Soorootoo’).

Mucuna capitata Wight & Arn. (1834) 255; Benth. (1852) 237; Miq. (1855) 212. — Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. capitata (Wight & Arn.) Burck (1893) 187. — Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. forma capitata (Wight & Arn.) K. Heyne (1916) 328. — Type:? Wight 754?

Negretia mitis Blanco (1837) 588 (nom. illeg., non Ruiz & Pav.); (1845) 410; (1879) 388, pl. 405b; Merr. (1918) 188. — Neotype (here designated): Merrill Species Blancoanae 863 (K), Luzon , Manila.

Mucuna lyonii Merr.(1906) 197. — Type: Lyon s.n. (K, PNH†, US),cultivated, Luzon , Manila (seeds from Luzon, Pampanga).

Stizolobium deeringianum Bort (1909) 31, f. 1, pl. 2, 3. — Mucuna deeringiana (Bort) Merr.(1910) 118;(1923) 308; Wilmot-Dear (1984) 63. — Type: Carleton s.n. (n.v.), Florida, Argo.

Stizolobium aterrima Piper & Tracy (1910) 18, t. 4B, 7. — Mucuna aterrima (Piper & Tracy) Merr. (1917a) 279. — Type: not indicated.

Irritating hairs absent. Terminal leaflets 5.5–11 by 4.5– 8 cm, index 1.2–1.7, lateral 5.9–12.7 by 4.0–8.3 cm. Inflorescences 1.5– 32 cm long, peduncles 1–4.5 cm long. Bracts to the brachyblasts ovate, c. 21 by 2 mm. Bracts to the flowers ovate, c. 5 by 1.5 mm. Bracteoles narrowly ovate, c. 2.8 by 0.5 mm. Calyx c. 15.5 mm long. Pods 4.6–11 by 1.4–2.0 cm. Seeds 11–17 by 11–10 by 6.3–7.6 mm; hilum 4–5 mm long, c. 1/8 of the circumference.

Distribution — Cultivated in the tropics and subtropics, also in Malesia. Sometimes escaped and naturalized.

Habitat & Ecology — Cultivated fields and gardens; as an escape in secondary and disturbed forests, roadsides.Altitude up to 300 m. Flowering: April, June, September, October, December; fruiting: April to July, October, December.

Note — Mainly cultivated for the presence of L-DOPA (see Hegnauer & Hegnauer 2001: 343–345). Also cultivated as food for humans and animals. Var. utilis is at present seen as a cultivar-group (Cv.-group Utilis) see Westphal (1974) 121 and Wulijarni-Soetjipto & Maligalig (1997) 199.