Guwar / Guvar Bean
Cyamopsis tetragonoloba
Also known as Cluster Bean
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Guwar
Identify Guwar by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Cultivated for edible pods and guar gum (cluster bean).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Trifoliate (three leaflets).
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- Confirm fruit type: Legume.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cyamopsis tetragonoloba
- Genus
- Cyamopsis
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Cultivate
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- India
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“Its fine leaves have an elongated oval shape (5 to 10 centimetres (2 to 4 in)) and of alternate position.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- Trifoliate (three leaflets)recorded
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“Its leaves and stems are mostly hairy, depending on the cultivar.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Guwar itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
- Fruit type
- LegumerecordedA dry pod that splits open along two seams (typical of the pea/bean family).“The guar (from Hindi: ग्वार: gvār) or cluster bean, with the botanical name Cyamopsis tetragonoloba, is an annual legume and the source of guar gum.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Guwar itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- गवार gawar, गुवार Guwar, गुआर Guaar
- Bengali
- ঝার শিম Jhar sim
- Tamil
- கொத்தவரை Kottavarai, கொத்தவரை
- Telugu
- గోరుచిక్కుడు, గోరు చిక్కుడు
- Kannada
- ಗೋರಿ ಕಾಯಿ Gori kaayi, ಚವಳಿ Chavali, ಜವಳಿ Javali
- Malayalam
- Kothavara, കൊത്തമര
- Marathi
- बावची Bavachi, चिटकी Chitaki, गवार Gavar
About Guwar
Guvar bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) is a low shrub in the Fabaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand. It is cultivate. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, tapped for gum or resin and stripped for fibre used in rope and matting.
Fabaceae
Legume/Bean family
Guwar belongs to the Fabaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
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