Mucuna urens

The word mucuna is the vernacular name for Mucuna urens in an indigenous language of Brazil, and in 1763 this word was chosen by the French botanist Michel Adanson in his Familles naturelles des plantes to be the generic epithet for this genus of legumes, although M. urens was itself known as Dolichos urens until being transferred to Mucuna many years later. ==Description==

Mucuna urens is a large, vigorous, much-branched, twining liana that climbs into the tree canopy. ==Distribution and habitat==

This liana is native to the West Indies, Central and South America, its range extending from Panama to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. It grows in forests and woodland at altitudes of up to . ==Uses==

Mucuna urens is used in traditional medicine. A tincture made from the powdered bean macerated in alcohol is a soothing remedy used against hemorrhoids, especially those inclined to bleed. The stinging hairs that grow on the pods can be taken internally against intestinal worms, which are expelled alive. An extract of the seeds given to male guinea pigs at low dosages was found to cause the degeneration of sperm, raising the possibility that the plant could be used as a male anti-fertility agent. ==References==