Linghu White Hyacinth Bean

Linghu White Hyacinth Bean

　　　　Product Name: White Hyacinth Bean

　　　　Also Known As: Goat-eye Bean, Yang’an Bean.

　　　　Place of Origin: Linghu, Huzhou.

　　　　Product Category: Annual climbing herbaceous plant.

　　　　Growing Season: Flowers bloom from July to September; fruits ripen from September to November.

　　　　Product Characteristics: Prefers warm, moist conditions; best grown near trees or water.

　　　　Product Composition: The seeds of the white hyacinth bean contain fatty oil, protein, niacin, carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins A, B, and C, alkaloids; as well as cyanogenic glycosides, tyrosinase, and trace amounts of calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other components.

　　　　Health Benefits: Regular consumption promotes healthy growth and metabolism of muscles, bones, and nerve functions in the human body. The high fiber content in white hyacinth beans aids and stimulates intestinal peristalsis, shortens the retention time of viral metabolic by-products in the intestinal tract, improves gastrointestinal function, and thereby reduces the risk of gastrointestinal tumors. As a natural health product for middle-aged and elderly individuals suffering from habitual constipation, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and similar conditions, white hyacinth beans hold great development potential.

　　　　Product Introduction: The white hyacinth bean is an annual twining herbaceous vine with vines reaching up to 6 meters in length. It has trifoliate leaves arranged alternately, with the central leaflet having a longer petiole and the lateral ones shorter. The leaflets are broadly ovate, pointed at the tip, broadly wedge-shaped at the base, entire-edged, and sparsely covered with short soft hairs on both sides. Linghu has many fish ponds, most bordered by poplar trees—an environment highly suitable for the growth of white hyacinth beans. Historically, Linghu produced white hyacinth beans in large quantities. This bean is a renowned traditional specialty of our city, in high domestic demand and once very popular in international markets. Farmers in the Linghu area have extensive cultivation experience. To leverage this resource advantage, active measures must be taken—through economic policies, market access, processing facilities, and cultivation techniques—to provide key support so that this famous, high-quality specialty can regain vitality, expand production, and shine once again in both domestic and international markets.

　　　　Product History: The white hyacinth bean originated in Indonesia and was introduced to China in the early 15th century (during the Ming Dynasty’s Xuande era). According to Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica, “It harmonizes the middle, regulates qi, nourishes the five organs, calms vomiting, and when taken long-term, prevents graying of hair… It also stops diarrhea and resolves damp heat, and quenches thirst.” In recent years, Linghu white hyacinth beans have been exported overseas. In the fourth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1647), Zhang Lüxiang’s Supplement to Agricultural Treatises recorded: “When I traveled back to An, I saw residents planting white hyacinth beans along the waterbanks under willow branches. The beans climb around the willows, and in autumn and winter the willows are cut down for making baskets. Each plant yields about one liter of beans.” This is the earliest record of white hyacinth bean cultivation in Linghu.