- Related Topics:
- Adzuki bean
- Mung bean
- navy bean
- Calabar bean
- scarlet runner bean
Bean
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What is a bean?
A bean is the edible seed or seedpod from plants in the Fabaceae family. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is second only to the soybean in economic importance as a leguminous food crop. Beans are rich in protein, iron, thiamin, and riboflavin, making them a valuable food source worldwide, especially in developing countries.
Most bean varieties grow as either an erect bush or as a climbing plant. Bean colors range from white to green, yellow, tan, pink, red, brown, purple, or black, with countless contrasting patterns. Bean shapes range from nearly spherical to flattened, elongated, and kidney-shaped.
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What are legumes?
Legumes are the fruit of plants belonging to the pea family (Fabaceae). This family includes nearly 20,000 species of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs recognizable by their compound leaves and production of legumes.
Most legume fruits are dry and release seeds by splitting along two seams. These fruits vary in size and shape, but many are long and narrow, bearing seeds in a single line. Legumes are high in protein and provide essential amino acids, B vitamins, and iron. They can also assist with nitrogen fixation, converting free nitrogen to ammonia via bacteria in root nodules, enriching the soil. Examples of legumes include beans, peas, peanuts, and soybeans.
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How are beans related to legumes?
Beans are seeds from plants in the legume family (Fabaceae). The term bean refers to various plants' seeds or pods in the legume family, also known as Fabaceae. Beans are a subgroup within the broader category of legumes.
Legumes are notable for their high protein content and ability to use atmospheric nitrogen through microorganisms in their roots. Common bean varieties include kidney, navy, and green beans.
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What are some common types of beans?
Beans are important crops worldwide, offering inexpensive protein and nutrients, especially in developing countries. The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is second only to the soybean in economic importance as a food crop.
Varieties of common beans include green beans, anasazi beans, navy beans, black beans, northern beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and cannellini beans. They are used in many different cuisines around the world, especially in Latin American and Creole dishes.
Most beans grow as either an erect bush or as a climbing plant. Bean colors range from white to green, yellow, tan, pink, red, brown, purple, and black, with various patterns.
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How do beans grow and what do they need to grow well?
Beans, a widely cultivated legume of significant economic importance, grow as either an erect bush or a climbing plant. Climbing types need artificial support when grown for immature seedpods to facilitate harvesting.
Like other legumes, beans have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria; rotating them with nitrogen-intensive crops, like cereals, improves soil. Common bean diseases include pod rots, which can be controlled through treatment with copper-containing fungicides and removal of infected pods.
Varieties differ significantly in size, shape, color, and texture. While some are grown for dry mature seeds, others are grown for edible immature pods.
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Why are beans and other legumes important for human diets and agriculture?
Beans and other legumes are important for both human diets and agriculture due to their nutritional value and ability to enhance soil fertility.
Legumes are a staple food in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries, as they are an inexpensive source of protein and nutrients. They contain at least 20% protein, are low in fat, and provide B vitamins and iron.
In agriculture, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legumes convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia in the soil, which host plants utilize for their development. This reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and makes legumes valuable for crop rotation and green manure.
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Bean, edible seed or seedpod of certain leguminous plants of the family Fabaceae. The genera Phaseolus and Vigna have several species each of well-known beans, though a number of economically important species can be found in various genera throughout the family. Rich in protein and providing moderate amounts of iron, thiamin, and riboflavin, beans are used worldwide for cooking in either fresh or dried form.
Physical description
Most varieties of bean grow either as an erect bush or as a climbing plant, but a few important kinds are of intermediate form. Dwarf and semiclimbers are grown extensively. When the climbing type is grown for its immature seedpods, artificial supports are necessary to facilitate harvesting. Varieties differ greatly in size, shape, colour, and fibrousness or tenderness of the immature pods. In general, varieties grown for dry mature seeds produce pods that are too fibrous to be eaten at any state of development. Most edible-podded beans produce relatively low yields of mature seeds or have seeds that are of low eating quality. Seed colours range from white through green, yellow, tan, pink, red, brown, and purple to black in solid colours and countless contrasting patterns. Seed shapes range from nearly spherical to flattened, elongated, and kidney-shaped. Pods are of various shades of green, yellow, red, and purple and splashed with red or purple; pod shapes range from flat to round, smooth to irregular, and straight to sharply curved; length ranges from 75 to 200 mm (3 to 8 inches) or more.
As with other legumes, beans have a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and can be rotated with nitrogen-intensive crops such as cereals to improve soil conditions.
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Major genera and species
Beans are staple food crops in many parts of the world and are an especially important source of quality inexpensive protein and nutrients for people in developing countries. Several species are of major economic significance, and countless regional varieties have been developed.
Soybean
The soybean (Glycine max) is the most economically important bean in the world, providing vegetable protein for millions of people and ingredients for hundreds of chemical products. Soybeans are erect branching plants and range in height from several centimetres to more than 2 metres (6.6 feet). The self-fertilizing flowers are white or a shade of purple and produce seeds that can be yellow, green, brown, black, or bicoloured. Soybeans are the principal ingredient in tofu and are important in a number of industrial and medicinal products, as well as a source of animal feed.
Common bean
The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is second to the soybean in importance and is of Central and South American origin. There are numerous varieties of P. vulgaris, including many common garden types such as pole, snap, string, and bush beans. It is called French bean, haricot bean, or kidney bean in various countries; in the United States, however, kidney bean refers to a specific type that is definitely kidney-shaped and is red, dark red, or white. Green beans, anasazi beans, navy beans, black beans, northern beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and cannellini beans are all varieties of the species. Some varieties of the common bean are grown only for the dry seeds, some only for the edible immature pods, and others for the seeds, either immature or mature. This bean figures prominently in Latin American and Creole cuisines, though varieties are commonly used in foods around the world.
Broad bean
Third in importance, the principal bean of Europe, though less well known in the United States, is the broad, or fava, bean (Vicia faba). The broad bean will not tolerate hot weather; it is grown in summer only in the cool parts of the temperate zone and during the winter in the warmer parts. Unlike other beans described, it tolerates slight freezing. The plant is erect, from 60 to 150 cm tall (2 to 5 feet), and bears few branches; the stem and branches are crowded with short-petioled leaves; the pods are nearly erect in clusters in the axils of the leaves; the seeds are large and irregularly flattened.
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Lima bean
Of Central American origin, the lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), also known as the sieva bean, is of commercial importance in few countries outside the Americas. There is a wide range of pod size and shape and of seed size, shape, thickness, and colour in both bush and climbing forms. Pods are wide, flat, and slightly curved. The lima bean is readily distinguished by the characteristic fine ridges in the seed coat that radiate from the “eye.” A perennial in the tropics, elsewhere it is normally grown as an annual; it requires a longer season and warmer weather than most varieties of common bean. Butter beans and giant white beans are some well-known varieties of P. lunatus.
Garbanzo bean
Garbanzo beans (Cicer arietinum), also called chickpeas, are especially important in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. The bushy plants bear small white or reddish flowers and produce pods with one or two yellow-brown seeds. These beans are important food plants in India, Africa, and Central and South America, with hummus (or hummous) and falafel (or felafel) being two well-known garbanzo dishes.
Other beans
Several species in the genus Vigna are familiar edible beans. Black-eyed peas (V. unguiculata), also known as cowpeas, are an important ingredient in many dishes of the southern United States and the Caribbean. The mung bean, or green gram (V. radiata), is native to India, where the small pods and seeds are eaten, as are the sprouts. Adzuki (or azuki) beans (V. angularis) are popular in Japan and other parts of East Asia.
The scarlet runner bean (P. coccineus) is native to tropical America. Naturally a perennial, it is grown to a small extent in temperate climates as an annual. It is a vigorous climbing plant with showy racemes of scarlet flowers, large coarse pods, and large coloured seeds. The scarlet runner bean is grown in Great Britain and Europe for the attractive flowers and fleshy immature pods.
The bonavist bean, or hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus), is a common garden ornamental. It is a large tropical climbing plant. The bonavist bean is native to India, where the immature seeds are used for food. The dry mature seeds are large, dark to black, nearly round to slightly flattened, and elongated.