Its natural range roughly follows the perimeter of the Indian Ocean and includes Africa, India, Malesia, New Guinea and northern Australia.

Mucuna gigantea is a large woody twining climber with a stem diameter of up to 10 cm (3.9 in).

[4][6][7] All leaflets have rounded bases and acuminate to apiculate tips,[4][5][6] with 4-6 pairs of lateral veins either side of the midrib.

The corolla lobes are white, pale-green or pale lilac; the standard is up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) long, and the wings and keel slightly longer.

[4][5][6] The seeds can be dispersed for long distances by sea currents, giving it a near pan-tropical distribution.

[citation needed] This species was first described in 1802 as Dolichos giganteus by the German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow.

[12] Mucuna gigantea occurs in tropical Africa, southwestern and southern Asia, and Oceania.

The intensely irritating hairs from the pods have been used as poison in Malaysia, and have been mixed with food for control of rats.

The beans contain a relatively high proportion of the essential amino acids, leucine and isoleucine, and the minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron are also abundant.

[15] Also present is the amino acid levodopa, which is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, but the beans also contain toxins, which can only be destroyed by lengthy soaking and boiling.