INDIAN BEAN

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Indian bean mean? 

• INDIAN BEAN (noun)
  The noun INDIAN BEAN has 2 senses:

1. tree of the genus Catalpa with large leaves and white flowers followed by long slender pods

2. 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

  Familiarity information: INDIAN BEAN used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INDIAN BEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tree of the genus Catalpa with large leaves and white flowers followed by long slender pods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

catalpa; Indian bean

Hypernyms ("Indian bean" is a kind of...):

bean tree (any of several trees having seedpods as fruits)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Indian bean"):

Catalpa bignioides (catalpa tree of southern United States)

Catalpa speciosa (catalpa tree of central United States)

Holonyms ("Indian bean" is a member of...):

genus Catalpa (a dicotyledonous genus of plants belonging to the family Bignoniaceae; has large flowers (white or mottled) and long terete pods)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

bonavist; Dolichos lablab; Egyptian bean; hyacinth bean; Indian bean; Lablab purpureus

Hypernyms ("Indian bean" is a kind of...):

vine (a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface)

Holonyms ("Indian bean" is a member of...):

genus Lablab; Lablab (one species: hyacinth bean)