Glycine max

Soybean

About

The soybean (Glycine max) (North America) or soya bean is a so-called legume and indigenous to East Asia. It is extensively cultivated for its edible beans.

The fruit of the plant is a hairy pod, that grows clustered in small bunches of three to five pods. Each pod measures between 3-8 centimetres long (1-3 inch) and contains two or four seeds that measure 5-11 mm in diameter. Soybean seeds vary greatly in size and the hull can be black or brown, but also blue, yellow or green.

When planting soybean plants, there is considerably more protein produced per acre than when planting other crops. Major producers of soybeans are Argentina, Brazil and the United States. Soybeans are now an important global crop can be used as food crop, but also provide oil and are a major source of protein.