**Adzuki Bean Origin and Diversity:**
– Wild ancestor: Vigna angularis var. nipponensis
– Speciation: Around 50,000 years ago
– Domestication: Estimated around 3000 BC
– Characteristics of domesticated adzuki beans
– Multiple domestication origins in East Asia
**Adzuki Bean Breeding:**
– Early plant breeding in Japan
– Important breeding traits: yield, bean color, maturing time
– Separate cultivars for fodder production and green manure
– Locally adapted cultivars in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan
– Large germplasm collections in China and Japan
**Adzuki Bean Cultivation:**
– Main cultivation regions: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan
– Commercial cultivation in the US, South America, India, etc.
– Japan as a significant importer and consumer
– Optimal growth conditions: 15-30°C, well-drained soils with pH 5-7.5
**Adzuki Bean Botany:**
– Annual or rarely biennial bushy herb
– Plant height: 30-90 cm
– Taproot system depth: 40-50 cm
– Leaf characteristics and flower appearance
**Adzuki Bean Nutritional Value and Culinary Uses:**
– Nutritional content per 100g
– Vitamins and minerals present
– Culinary uses in East Asian cuisine
– Preparation methods: red bean paste, sprouted, tea drink, traditional dishes
Vigna angularis, also known as the adzuki bean (Japanese: 小豆 (アズキ), azuki, Uncommon アヅキ, adzuki), azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately 5 mm or 1⁄4 in long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asia have a uniform red color, but there are also white, black, gray, and variously mottled varieties.
| Adzuki beans | |
|---|---|
| |
| Also called "red mung beans" | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Vigna |
| Species: | V. angularis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vigna angularis | |
Scientists presume Vigna angularis var. nipponensis is the progenitor.