Sword is a perennail legume mainly cultivated as an annual (Ekanayake et al., 2000)/ Sword bean has a vigorous climbing or trailing habit and can be up to 10 m long. Some cultivarrs may also be semi-erect. Sword bean root system is deep. Its stems are woody . The leaves are alternate, large, trifoliolate. Sword bean leaflets are oval-shaped, 7.5–20 cm long × 5–14 cm broad, shortly pubescent on both faces. The inflorescence is a large axillary raceme (7 to 12 cm long) bearing several flowers. The flowers are papillonaceous, inverted, white to pink in colour. The fruits are long (20-40 (-60) cm, straight, rough-surfaced and slightly compressed dehiscent pods containing 8 to 16 seeds. The seed are 2-3.5 cm -1.5-2 cm, oblong-ellipsoid in shape, very variable in colour. They range from red, red-brown to white or black. The hilum is as long as the seed, dark brown in colour (Bosch, 2004; Duke, 1981)
