velvet bean n [See quot 1896] Cf cowitch n 1, sea bean n 1
Any of various cultivated (and occas naturalized) varieties of the legume Mucuna pruriens, grown in the South chiefly as a fodder and green manure plant.
1886 Springfield Daily Leader (MO) [31 Aug 4]/4, [Advt:] Lost.—A Ladies’ gold hunting case watch with black velvet bean attached. 1896 FL Ag. Exper. Sta. Bulletin 35.340, In 1895, my attention was called to a “pea” which was reported to grow luxuriantly in poor soil. . . Afterwards, the same plant was found in Lake City and in other places in Florida, grown as an ornamental on trellises . . , under the name of the Velvet Bean. . . The bloom was followed by plump pods of rich, dark green, covered with a close down, like velvet. 1918 U.S. Dept. Ag. Farmers’ Bulletin 962.5, The Florida velvet bean was the only species grown for forage in the United States until about 1906, but during recent years the Department of Agriculture has introduced about 20 other species, including the Chinese, Lyon, and Yokohama varieties. 1933 Small Manual SE Flora 717, S[tizolobium] Deeringianum [=Mucuna pruriens var utilis]. . . Velvet-bean. Florida-bean. . . Pinelands, hammocks, citrus groves, and old fields, pen. Fla. . . Extensively grown as a ground cover. 1940 Writers’ Program Guide Georgia 361 ceGA, The county produces large quantities of naval stores, sweet potatoes, corn, nuts, sugar cane, hay, and velvet beans. 1965–70 DARE (Qu. I20, . . Kinds of beans) Infs AL1, 6, FL17, 27, GA1, 8, 11, 16, 28, LA3, Velvet beans; (Qu. L9b, Hay from other kinds of plants [not grass]; not asked in early QRs) Inf AL20, Velvet beans; LA3, Velvet-bean hay; (Qu. L34, . . Most important crops grown around here) Inf LA22, Velvet beans; (Qu. S17, . . Kinds of plants . . that . . cause itching and swelling) Inf SC40, Velvet beans. 1986 Pederson LAGS Concordance, 10 infs, GA, 6 infs, AL, 2 infs, FL, 2 infs, LA, 1 inf, AR, Velvet bean(s)—feed for animals (or cows, cattle). 1993 St. Petersburg Times (FL) 9 July sec F 1 (Internet), Cover crops shade out weeds and, when tilled back into the soil, improve and enrich Florida sand. Recommended crops include . . Velvet Beans (Victor and Osceola). 2002 S. Cultures 8.3.112 SC, We planted velvet beans. They would just climb up on the corn stalks, and that’s what the cattle ate during the winter. 2022 Daily Advt. (Lafayette LA) 29 June sec A 1/1, Brennan “Bruno” Sagrera . . also stands by cover cropping, planting lablab bean and velvet bean, which was common among Louisiana farms decades ago, before synthetic fertilizers were on the scene.