Applied Botany Section, Agricultural Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302.
The herbarium collections in India record the occurrence of 12 species of Phaseolus, mainly found in the southern regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats and Eastern Himalayas. A review of all published records shows that actually 16 species occur mainly in the Western Ghats, Deccan plateau, and Eastern and Western Himalayas. On the basis of comparative morphology, it is established that P. aureus, P. mungo, P. radiatus, P. sublobatus, P. aconitifolius, P. calcaratus and P. trilobus are the only valid species. The endemic nature of these species to India is confirmed by ancient history and nomenclature.
Phaseolus, Vigna, mungbean, uradbean, mothbean, ricebean, species validity, endemism
