Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. var. utilis (Wall. ex Wight) Baker ex Burck

Synonyms

Dolichos pruriens L.
Mucuna utilis Wall. ex Wight
Stizolobium pruriens (L.) Medik.

Family

Fabaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory)
Fabaceae: sub-family Faboideae (New South Wales)
Leguminosae (South Australia)
Papilionaceae (Western Australia)

Common Names

Bengal bean, Bengal velvet bean, cow itch, cowage velvet bean, cow-itch, cowitch, Florida velvet bean, horse eye bean, lacuna bean, Lyon bean, Mauritius velvet bean, mucuna, pica-pica, velvet bean, velvetbean, Yokohama velvet bean

Origin

This species has a very widespread distribution throughout the tropical regions of the world (i.e. it is pan-tropical). It is thought to have originated in India and south-eastern Asia, but its exact native distribution is obscure and it is sometimes also regarded as being native to tropical America.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised, but scattered, in northern and eastern Australia (i.e. in northern and eastern Queensland and the northern parts of the Northern Territory). Also present on Christmas Island, but it is possibly native to this area.

Notes

Cow itch (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) is regarded as a potentially serious environmental weed in northern Australia. It is on the Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) list and is also seen as a "sleeper weed" in some parts of northern Australia.