Dream beans who can travel in search of a better life (9 photos)

The legume family is quite impressive and has about 18 thousand species. But this plant from countries whose shores are washed by the Indian Ocean is outstanding in every sense.





The Entada genus includes trees, shrubs, and even woody vines. But the most outstanding of them all is Entada Rheedii, a vine whose pods and beans are considered the largest in the world. With a main stem length of about 75 meters and a girth of up to 40 centimeters, the pod can grow up to one and a half meters. A bean with a diameter of 4-5 centimeters weighs about 30 grams.



Entada blooms with white or yellowish inflorescences with a pleasant aroma. And when the pod ripens and dries, the bean breaks off along with part of the shell. The edges of the fragment are flat, wing-like, and are easily carried by wind and ocean waves.





For a long time, residents of coastal countries - Norway, Iceland, Britain - found strange but cute boxes on the shore. People called them sea hearts because of their similar shape and used natural boxes polished by the waves until smooth to store all sorts of small things like matches.



At that time, they did not yet know that the vines growing on the coast send beans in search of suitable conditions. They tolerate long stays in salt water, maintaining excellent germination. What is noteworthy is that their forest counterparts do not have this ability: once in the water, the seeds simply drown.



Entada Rydia is a true traveler. Researchers even find marks on them left by marine life. Attempts to evaluate the taste of the bean, by the way, also do not affect germination.



In Asia, beans are used in folk medicine to prepare a restorative ointment. A decoction of the bark is drunk for problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Australian aborigines, after pre-soaking, boil them and eat them like regular vegetables.



In addition, the plant is used as firewood and ropes are made from it. But perhaps the most amazing feature that entada has is its ability to induce lucid dreams.



Shamans have known about this for a long time and used beans crushed to a powdery state as an additive to tobacco and raw material for brewing a drink, after which you can calm down, come into harmony with yourself and plunge into lucid dreams.



Those who are hesitant to take such drastic measures carry the sea heart with them as an amulet, believing in its supernatural protective abilities.