Phaseolus coccineus, known as runner bean,[2]scarlet runner bean,[2]ormultiflora bean,[2] is a plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. Another common name is butter bean,[3][4][5] which, however, can also refer to the lima bean, a different species.
Beans of 'Scarlet Runner' cultivar. A similar cultivar, the Japanese runner, looks the same but is almost twice as large.[6]
This species originated in the mountains of Central America. It was most likely cultivated in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala around 2000 BC.[7] Most varieties have red flowers and multicolored seeds (though some have white flowers and white seeds) and are often grown as ornamental plants. The vine can grow to 3 metres (9.8 ft) or more in length,[8] its pods can get to 25 centimetres (9.8 in), and its beans can be up to 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) or more.[9]
The knife-shaped pods are normally green; however, there are rare varieties bred by amateurs that have purple pods. An example of such a purple-podded runner bean is 'Aeron Purple Star'.[10]
Runner beans have also been called "Oregon lima bean",[11] and in Nahuatlayocotl or in Spanish ayocote. Runner beans, like all beans, contain the toxicproteinphytohaemagglutinin and thus should be cooked well before eating.[12]
Runner beans were grown as food plants in North America and Europe from the 1600s, and also as ornamentals for their attractive flowers. However, they came to be used primarily as a garden ornamental plant in North America, including for temporary screening. The flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and other insects. In the UK and other European countries – where the vegetable is a popular choice for kitchen gardens and allotments – the flowers came to be ignored, or treated as an attractive bonus to cultivating the plant for the beans.[13][14]
The seeds of the plant can be used fresh or as dried beans. The pods are eaten whole while young and not yet fibrous, though they tend to have a rougher surface than the common bean. The starchy roots of this perennial are eaten in Mesoamerica.[13]
The beans are used in many cuisines. It is a popular side vegetable in British cuisine. A variety named 'Judión de la Granja' producing large, white, edible beans is cultivated in San Ildefonso, Spain.[15] It is the basis of a Segovian regional dish also named Judiones de la Granja, in which the beans are mixed with pig's ears, pig's trotters, and chorizo, amongst other ingredients.[16]
In Greece, cultivars of the runner bean with white blossom and white beans are known as fasolia gigantes (φασόλια γίγαντες). They are grown under protective law in the north of Greece within the regions of Kato Nevrokopi, Florina and Kastoria.[17] The beans have an important role in Greek cuisine, appearing in many dishes (such as Gigantes plaki). In English, they are sometimes colloquially referred to as elephant beans.[18][19] In Austria the coloured versions are cultivated and served as『Käferbohnen』("beetle-bean"), a dish made of the dry beans with pumpkin seed oil. It is considered a typical dish of regional Austrian cuisine, but dried runner beans are also consumed to a small extent in Germany. In Turkey, runner beans are the main ingredient in bean Pilaki and Piyaz.[citation needed]
Greece and northern Africa are the sources of pods of the runner beans sold as "green beans" in European markets during the cold period. The pods can be identified by their big size and the rougher surface.
^No Coast Seeds. "Bean - Shinshu Runner". nocoastseeds.ca. Retrieved 16 April 2023. The website shows a side-by-side picture of the Scarlet runner and the Japanese runner.
^Pearman, Georgina (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN0415927463.
^Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners. "'Akahana Fujimame' Beans". vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/. Cornell Garden Based Learning, Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Horticulture Section. Retrieved 16 April 2023. "Japanese hyacinth pole bean. Vines bear red flowers and flat, thick and curved pods".
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