The chemical reactions and pathways involving L-arabinose, the D-enantiomer of arabino-pentose. L-arabinose occurs free, e.g. in the heartwood of many conifers, and in the combined state, in both furanose and pyranose forms, as a constituent of various plant hemicelluloses, bacterial polysaccharides etc. [ GOC:mah https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A0198506732 GOC:jsg ]