Lablab purpureus 'Ruby Moon' is a fast-growing tropical vine native to sub-Saharan Africa and cultivated throughout the tropics as a food crop. The 'Ruby Moon' cultivar produces purple-flushed foliage, rose-purple flowers, and clusters of glossy dark-violet pods that hold ornamental value through fall. It is a tender perennial in zones 9–11 and grown as a warm-season annual elsewhere, where it commonly covers 10–15 feet of trellis in a single season.
Plant in full sun after soils have warmed and all frost risk has passed. The vine twines and needs a sturdy trellis, fence, or arbor from early on. Soaking seeds overnight before sowing speeds germination markedly. Mulching the root zone helps retain moisture during hot dry spells. In zones 9–11, roots may overwinter and re-sprout; in colder climates, collect seeds from mature pods before the first hard frost for replanting the following year.
All major parts of the plant — young leaves, flowers, immature pods, and seeds — are eaten in African and South Asian cuisines. Young pods and leaves are generally safe when cooked thoroughly; mature seeds must be boiled through multiple changes of water to reduce cyanogenic glucoside levels before eating.