Itab (Lima beans)

Sub Shrub Height: 0.8-1.5 m Leaves: Leaves alternate and paripinnately compound. 10 to 15 cm long. Base of petiole flanked by two triangular deciduous stipules. Upper part of the petiole and rachis are excavated in grooves. Black protruding gland at the base of the petiole. Leaves comprising of 4-6 pairs of leaflets. The lamina of the leaflets is oval to elliptical, 3 to 8 cm long and 15 to 40 mm wide. The size of the leaflets increases from the base to the top of the leaf. The lower face and margin are slightly pubescent. The upper side is smooth. The base is asymmetrically rounded or wide angled; the top is in acuminate tip. The margin is entire. Flowers: Flowers solitary or grouped in axillary clusters of 2 to 5 flowers at the ends of branches, or atop an axillary peduncle, 2 to 4 cm long. Flowers are yellow in colour. Calyx with 5 green, elliptical, a little uneven sepals (oval lower sepal sepals). Corolla 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter, with 5 yellow petals, unequal (wider upper petal), free, ovate, rounded tip, veined. 10 unequal stamens (the previous two long curved net and anther). Ovary linear, long, curved, glabrous, ending with a hairy stigma. Fruits: The fruit is a linear to oblong or slightly curved, flat pod, 10 to 15 long cm and 7 to 8 mm wide. It has thick suture lines and bulges on the grains. It contains 20 to 60 seeds arranged in line and separated by a thin membrane.