How to Identify Lablab Vine

The Dolichos lablab vine, otherwise known as the hyacinth bean vine, is a fast-growing flowering summer vine. The hyacinth bean vine is a beautiful cover and, with sun and watering, will shoot up around anything it clings to. Follow a few steps to identify this gorgeous flowering vine.

Instructions

    • 1

      Look at the right time. Dolichos lablab is a tender perennial plant that is quite susceptible to cold and will only grow in warm, sunny conditions. Look for the vine around late spring and summer to correctly identify it.

    • 2

      Identify the vine by its lavender-pink flowers, one of the lablab's most noticeable characteristics. The flower color varies from purple to lavender to a tender pink. Stalks carry roughly three or four flowers each.

    • 3

      Go for the green and purple. The plant has very green leaves traced with purplish veins, especially when the hyacinth bean vine is in full bloom. The leaves are about double the size of the flowers and are semi-transparent. Between the leaves, catch glimpses of the lablab vine's purple stems.

    • 4

      Peek at the pods. Lablab vine is a legume, and the plant bears fuzzy, bright-purple bean pods that entice birds and insects.

    • 5

      See if it snakes. Dolichos lablab will gently snake up anything that reaches towards the sun, so look to see if the plant is clinging to fences, walls and even other plants to identify it correctly.

    • 6

      Notice the leftovers. By early winter, the sun-loving vine will begin to wither and fade. Look for very thin, gray and ratty looking vine remnants to identify lablab vine in the late season.