FABA (the old Latin name, from the same root as phago, to eat; the seeds are esculent). Bean. ORD. Leguminosae. This genus, which contains but this species described below, is now included under Vicia. For culture, see Bean. FABA vulgaris (common) fl. white, with a blackish-blue silky spot in the middle of the wings. l. thick, with two to five broad, oval mucronate leaflets; stipules semi-sagittate, oval; tendrils of leaves almost wanting. h. 2ft. to 3ft. As is the case with so many commonly cultivated food plants, the origin and native country of the bean are doubtful. It was cultivated in prehistoric times in Europe, Egypt, and Arabia; and, according to De Candolle ("Origine des plantes cultivees"), it may be truly native about the Caspian Sea and in North Africa. There is a variety of this species (equina) called the Horse Bean.