Favas do Mar

These are legume seeds that appear, brought by the ocean current, on the north coast of Madeira, mainly in Porto da Cruz. The seeds most frequently found there are from the Guillandina Bonduc and two species of the genera Entada and Mucuna.

Some suppose that Columbus, who perhaps did not overlook the arrival of such seeds, saw in them evidence of the existence of unknown lands to the west.

The seeds we refer to are also known by the name 'castanhas do mar.'