Do you want to eat red beans on Tanabata?

Eat red beans on Tanabata, because red beans represent acacia and affection, and eating red beans symbolizes eternal love.

Acacia, also known as red bean vine, has thin and branched stems. Pinnate compound leaves; Leaflets 8- 13 pairs, membranous, opposite, nearly oblong. Racemes axillary, 3-8 cm long; Inflorescence axis thick and short; Flowers are small, dense and head-shaped; Calyx bell-shaped, calyx teeth 4-lobed, thick white; Corolla purple, flag handle triangular, wing flap and dragon bone flap narrower.

Country of origin

Born in sparse forests in mountainous areas. Widely distributed in tropical areas. African subspecies are native to tropical Africa, including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Niger, Togo and Namibia. It is also distributed in South Africa, parts of KwaZulu-natal province, gauteng province and Limpopo provinces, Madagascar and some islands in the western Indian Ocean (namely Mauritius and Seychelles).

Named subspecies originated in Indonesia and have spread all over the world in tropical and subtropical regions, even in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Hawaii in the United States. China, Taiwan Province, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.