Mung bean
Vigna radiata
The usual green sprouting bean and the dal known as moong. Sprouts are a living food with sanitation rules; dry dal is the pantry form.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
Also called: moong, green gram
What it is
The usual green sprouting bean and the dal known as moong. Sprouts are a living food with sanitation rules; dry dal is the pantry form.
Edible portions
- dry seeds
- sprouts
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Warm season
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Well-drained
- Planting. Direct-sow in heat.
- Harvest. Dry pods, or use seed for sprouts in clean jars.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Dal, glass noodles (a starch process), sprouts in stir-fry
Nutrition and compounds
- Minerals (qualitative). iron, folate, protein — look up current USDA FoodData Central entries for numbers.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Safety
- Sprout in clean conditions; people with compromised immunity are often advised to cook sprouts.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.