Vigna umbellata(Thunb.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi

rice bean

WFO wfo-0000189344 Accepted WFO 2026-06 7 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–g · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Vigna umbellata, photographed by 葉子
fig. a 葉子, CC0 1.0 / 2020-08-20 / obs. 92573193
Vigna umbellata, photographed by Neptalí Ramírez Marcial
fig. b Neptalí Ramírez Marcial, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 12350100
Vigna umbellata, photographed by 葉子
fig. c 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 92573189
Vigna umbellata, photographed by Aravinth
fig. d Aravinth, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 58972047
Vigna umbellata, photographed by 葉子
fig. e 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 92573195
Vigna umbellata, photographed by Aravinth
fig. f Aravinth, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 58972052
Vigna umbellata, photographed by Aravinth
fig. g Aravinth, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 58972039

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 23 botanical countries

Regions where Vigna umbellata is native: China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya China South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanTaiwanAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaThailandVietnamWest Himalaya Laccadive Is.
Native distribution of Vigna umbellata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Taiwan TAI

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 24 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Azukia umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi
  • Dolichos trilobus Blanco
  • Dolichos umbellatus Thunb.
  • Dolichos unguiculatus Thunb.
  • Phaseolus angustifolius Hassk.
  • Phaseolus calcaratus Roxb.
  • Phaseolus chrysanthos Savi
  • Phaseolus chrysanthos var. hirtus Hassk.
  • Phaseolus hirtuz Wall.
  • Phaseolus hispidulus Hassk.
  • Phaseolus humilis Hassk.
  • Phaseolus leptospermus Lag.
  • Phaseolus pubescens Blume
  • Phaseolus ricciardianus Ten.
  • Phaseolus ricciardianus var. macrocarpus Prain
  • Phaseolus ricciardus Ten.
  • Phaseolus sublobatus Wall.
  • Phaseolus torosus Roxb.
  • Vigna brachycalyx Baker
  • Vigna calcarata (Roxb.) Kurz
  • Vigna papuana Baker f.
  • Vigna ricciardiana (Ten.) Babu & S.K.Sharma
  • Vigna ricciardiana var. macrocarpa (Prain) H.B.Naithani & S.Biswas
  • Vigna umbellata var. umbellata

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.