| hyacinth bean | (n) 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, Syn. Egyptian bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab |