Largest bean pods

The largest bean pods are produced by the sea bean or sea heart Entada gigas, a species of woody flowering liana native to the rainforests of tropical America and Africa, and a member of the pea and bean (legume) family, Fabaceae. Its pods measure up to 2 m long and 12 cm across. They contain 10–15 seeds, each of which has a diameter of 6 cm and is 2 cm thick.

Torrential rains carry the gigantic shed pods of this species into rivers and onwards into the sea, which often carries them immense distances to entirely separate continents or island groups, explaining its very wide geographical distribution.

Owing to its beanstalk's huge, almost fairy-tale appearance, in Costa Rica it is popularly dubbed the monkey ladder.