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Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Photo: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

On the map in 2 countries crop

Common bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Family: Fabaceae

On our map this plant appears in 2 countries and ranks highest in: Costa Rica, Mexico.

An annual plant of the legume family, in bush and climbing forms, with trifoliate leaves and white, pink or purple flowers. The pods contain seeds in countless colour varieties – black, red, speckled, cream. Like other legumes it fixes nitrogen from the air with the help of root-nodule bacteria, which enriches the soil. The bean was domesticated independently in Mesoamerica and in the Andes, and in Central America it has been grown alongside maize for thousands of years.

Description from: Costa Rica.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl) Plants of the World Online (Kew)

Significance in each country

  1. Costa Rica no. 9 of 10 native

    Gallo pinto – rice fried with black beans, coriander and Lizano sauce – is considered Costa Rica’s national dish, and beans are also part of the lunchtime casado. They are grown mainly by smallholders in the north and south of the country.

  2. Mexico no. 11 of 15 native

    In the traditional milpa, beans climb the maize stalks while squash grows between them – a system that has fed Mexico for millennia.