velvet bean n : annual semi-woody vine of Asia having long clusters of purplish flowers and densely hairy pods; cultivated in southern United States for green manure and grazing [syn: {cowage}, {Bengal bean}, {Benghal bean}, {Florida bean}, {Mucuna pruriens utilis}, {Mucuna deeringiana}, {Mucuna aterrima}, {Stizolobium deeringiana}]