What is "adzuki bean"

n. (alternative spelling of azuki bean English)

n. bushy annual widely grown in China and Japan for the flour made from its seeds [syn: adsuki bean, Vigna angularis, Phaseolus angularis]

The adzuki bean (Vigna angularis; from the Japanese , sometimes transliterated as azuki or aduki) is an annual vine widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small (approximately 5 mm) bean. The cultivars most familiar in Northeast Asia have a uniform red colour, however, white, black, gray, and variously mottled varieties also are known. Scientists presume Vigna angularis var. nipponensis is the progenitor.