Guar bean

Guar or guar bean is an annual legume native to India and Pakistan. Meanwhile the palm is cultivated in Brazil, Africa, Australia, Israel and the USA. Guar is a 1 - 2 m tall legume with very hairy stems and branches. The 5-10cm long leaves are greenish-shiny, long oval, pointed and slightly toothed at the edges. Small about 8 mm long, light blue to whitish flower clusters stand upright in the leaf axils. The flowers develop into upright tufts of pods with small, oval, female to grey, wheat-like seeds about 5 mm long.

Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L. is the parent plant of guar, also known as guar meal, which is used as a filler, thickener and gelling agent in dietary products, also in cosmetics, due to its strong swelling properties. Guar is approved in the European Union as a food additive under the number E 412.