96 articles
Vigna
Vigna, genus of Fabaceae legumes including cowpea, mung bean, adzuki bean, and urd bean; fast-growing tropical diploid crops with 416–1,394 Mbp genomes; only about 10 of over 100 species domesticated.
Vigna mungo
Vigna mungo (black gram, urad, urd bean, mash), a Fabaceae pulse cultigen domesticated in India about 4,500 years ago from V. mungo var. silvestris; India produces over 70% of the global crop, mainly for dal.
Vigna subterranea
Vigna subterranea, Bambara groundnut, is an African annual legume (Fabaceae) with underground pods, drought tolerance, and nitrogen fixation; third most important African legume after groundnut and cowpea, origin debated between Mali and Nigeria-Cameroon.
Vine
Vine: a plant with a weak stem that climbs by twining, tendrils, adhesive pads, or adventitious roots; woody vines are lianas. Climbing occurs in over 40% of angiosperm families and was an early land plant innovation.
Wisteria
Wisteria, also called wistaria, is a genus of about five to seven deciduous twining vine species in Fabaceae, including Chinese Wisteria sinensis, Japanese W. floribunda, and native American W. frutescens, known for long fragrant flower racemes and the invasiveness of the Asian species in the US.
Wood
Wood (secondary xylem) is the structural tissue trees form via the vascular cambium; used as fuel, timber, and paper feedstock. Key facts: Kalambo Falls 476,000-year-old structure, 3,905 million m³ roundwood in 2024, orthotropic mechanics.