How did we get so many varieties from the common bean?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
September 20, 2001
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The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) [faze' ee o lus vul gare' is] is native to tropical America and has been cultivated for approximately 7,000 years. This species was domesticated twice, once in Peru and again in Mexico. The common bean is considered a cultigen (generated under cultivation); a plant so different from its wild type that it is considered a new species. The same new plant arising twice, but with a subtle
difference....
Working backwards from beans grown today in these areas, a gene (called fin) was present in the Peruvian types that was not found in the Mexican varieties. The fin gene causes a dwarf habit, reducing the height of the plant by limiting the number of nodes and transforming vegetative tissues (leaf and vine) into reproductive tissues (flowers and pods). Archaeologically, this makes sense.
The cultivation of corn was limited in Peru; farmers would have had to provide supports for bean vines to get productive crops. To reduce the amount of field work, farmers would have selected seeds from bush-type beans. In Mexico where corn was cultivated, the bean varieties selected
tended to be vines. Beans were grown next to corn, the growth habit of corn was complimentary to the growth habit of beans; also decreasing the work load of the farmers. (See Plants that Changed History, August 28, 2001)
This single species has numerous cultivars (cultivated varieties), many selected and grown by the indigenous peoples of the New World. From the single lowly bean, we have those grown for their edible pods--green, snap, French, Romano, wax, runner, salad, and string beans. From plants selected for their mature (dry) seeds, we get kidney, pinto, black, pink, and navy beans.
To view photographs of some of the varieties of common beans, visit the Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/BeanCommonDry.html
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Suggested Reading:
What is favism? Plants that Changed History - October 7, 2003
Why did ladies use bean poultices? Herbal Folklore - September 8, 2003
What is L-dopa? Plants that Changed History - September 2, 2003
What is a fava bean? Weird Plants - September 4, 2003
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- Lady Fern (4), Versatile and hardy, tropical looking fern. Summer fronds up to 30" long and 12-24" wide are great for shady areas.
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