www.seabean.com - A Sea-Bean Guide: Hamburger Bean, Thick-Banded (Mucuna fawcettii)

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Thick-Banded Hamburger Bean
Mucuna fawcettii

This seed is also called the Horse Eye Bean and Ojo de Vaca (eye of cow).

Seed of Mucuna fawcettii

Mucuna fawcettii, was named by Ignatius Urban in 1908, from specimens found in Jamaica. Presently, it is a bit of a dilemma to those interested in drift seeds. The problem: This species has been described as being endemic to Jamaica... i.e., it grows ONLY in Jamaica. Additionally, there are statements that it is probably extinct from Jamaica (see: Perry & Dennis, 2003:179)... i.e., it probably doesn't grow there any more. Hmmmm... IF it no longer exists at the ONLY place that it grew, then why do we keep finding these seeds washed ashore?

Possibilities are that it isn't extinct from Jamaica, which keeps producing seeds from unknown locations. Alternatively, it is extinct from Jamaica but the last of the seeds from there established colonies of the plant elsewhere, which now produces seeds. Lastly, perhaps this plant was never endemic to Jamaica and it has been growing elsewhere all along, whether it is presently extinct from Jamaica or not.

Could it possibly be that the original "source" of these seeds was (and still is) the upper Amazon River? Could seeds from the Amazon have been washed downstream to the ocean, floated, and subsequently colonized Jamaica? Did island life in Jamaica not provide the best habitat and climate for this species and thus it died out on the island? Hmmmm.....

Nonetheless, these seeds are coveted by collectors, due to their large size (for Mucuna spp.), their rarity and their beauty, embellished by the presence of the overly thick black band (hilum) around much of the periphery of the seed. Data taken and averaged from 13 drifted and beach-stranded seeds depict that these seeds are roughly circular in shape, averaging about 33 mm in diameter and averaging 18.7 mm in thickness. The hilum averages 8.5 mm thick, comprising about half of the total thickness of the seed.

Presently, I've acquired seeds that look exactly like those washed ashore in Florida (USA), but were collected as non-drifted seeds directly from the jungle along the Amazon River in Peru (see image of lots of seeds, below right). We're attempting to grow both the drifted seeds as well as those obtained from the Amazon region of Peru. Hopefully, the flowers will confirm the identity of each of these seeds, and distinguish it from other seeds. Another seed (but not a "sea-bean") that also has a thick hilum is Mucuna elliptica, for which we're also trying to obtain literature, seeds, pods, etc. for comparison.

This species is regulated in Jamaica (assuming it is still there!). The following document, in Microsoft Word format, lists: “Species in Jamaica the trade of which is to be controlled to prevent or restrict exploitation and which require the cooperation of other Parties in the control of trade in such species”

www.nrca.org/cites/Final%20Schedule%20IV-Endangered%20Species-law.doc

This species list includes Mucuna fawcettii.

John Hammerton, 2008, also lists (Table 1, pg. 6) Mucuna fawcetii as being endemic to Jamaica, and references yellow flowers:

Mucuna pruriens: weed, invasive, or multi-use crop for the Bahamas?

College of the Bahamas Research Journal Vol. XII, pg. 4-15.

The International Journal of Bahamian Studies, North America, 12, feb. 2008

Side view of drifted (to Florida) specimen of Mucuna fawcettii,
showcasing the "thick band" called the hilum
Photo: Nan Rhodes (www.BeachBeans.com)

Jungle-collected specimens of Mucuna fawcettii
from the Amazon region of Peru.

This plant is from a seed taken from jungles of the Amazon region of Peru.
Young plant of Mucuna fawcettii 7/21/2009 Photo: Gina Reed	Young flower bud and partial leaf of Mucuna fawcettii 11/12/2011 Photo: Gina Reed	Mature buds of Mucuna fawcettii 11/28/2011 Photo: Gina Reed

Immature leaves of Mucuna fawcettii
December 2011 Photo: Christopher Boykin

Ventral view of nearly mature flowers
of Mucuna fawcettii.
December 2011 Photo: Christopher Boykin

Note the coloration of the base of the flowers,
similar to the flower petals, along with
the pinkish marginal coloration of the flowers.