Phaseolus vulgaris white beans, witte boon.jpg

''Phaseolus'' (bean, wild bean) is a genus of herbaceous to woody annual and perennial vines in the family Fabaceae containing about 70 plant species, all native to the Americas, primarily Mesoamerica.

It is one of the most economically important legume genera. Five of the species have been domesticated since pre-Columbian times for their beans: '' P. acutifolius'' (tepary bean), '' P. coccineus'' (runner bean), '' P. dumosus'' (year bean), '' P. lunatus'' (lima bean), and '' P. vulgaris'' (common bean). Most prominent among these is the common bean, ''P. vulgaris'', which today is cultivated worldwide in tropical, semitropical, and temperate climates.

Ecology

''Phaseolus'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including common swift, garden dart, ghost moth ''Hypercompe albicornis'', '' H. icasia'' and the nutmeg.

Etymology

The generic name ''Phaseolus'' was introduced by Linnaeus in 1753,Linnaeus, ''Species Plantarum'' 2:623, cited in Oxford English Dictionarybr>''s.v.'' 'phaseolin'
/ref> from the Latin ''phaseolus'', a diminutive of ''phasēlus'', in turn borrowed from Greek φάσηλος ' cowpea', of unknown origin. The Latin word ''phaseolus'' is often incorrectly glossed as 'kidney bean', a New World crop. Oxford English Dictionarybr>''s.v.'' 'phaseolin'
/ref>

Taxonomy

Previous classifications placed a number of other well-known legume species in this genus, but they were subsequently reassigned to the genus '' Vigna'', sometimes necessitating a change of species name. For example, older literature refers to the mung bean as ''Phaseolus aureus'', whereas more modern sources classify it as ''Vigna radiata''. Similarly, the snail bean ''Vigna caracalla'' was discovered in 1753 and in 1970 moved from ''Phaseolus'' to ''Vigna''. The modern understanding of ''Phaseolus'' indicates a genus endemic only to the New World.

Species

Species have been organized into eight groups based on phylogenetic clades:

Filiformis group
*''Phaseolus angustissimus'' A. Gray
*''Phaseolus filiformis''—slimjim bean
*'' Phaseolus carterae''
Leptostachyus group
*''Phaseolus leptostachyus''
*''Phaseolus macvaughii''
*'' Phaseolus micranthus''
Lunatus group
*''Phaseolus augusti''
*''Phaseolus bolivianus''
*'' Phaseolus lunatus''—lima bean, butter bean
*'' Phaseolus pachyrrhizoides''
*'' Phaseolus viridis''
*''Phaseolus mollis''
Pauciflorus group
*'' Phaseolus pauciflorus''
*''Phaseolus parvulus''
*''Phaseolus perplexus''
*''Phaseolus pluriflorus''
*''Phaseolus tenellus''
Pedicellatus group
*''Phaseolus altimontanus''
*''Phaseolus dasycarpus''
*''Phaseolus esperanzae''
*''Phaseolus grayanus''
*'' Phaseolus laxiflorus''
*''Phaseolus neglectus''
*'' Phaseolus pedicellatus''
*''Phaseolus texensis''
Polystachios group
*''Phaseolus albinervus''
*''Phaseolus jaliscanus''
*'' Phaseolus juquilensis''
*''Phaseolus maculatus''—spotted bean
*''Phaseolus marechalii''
*''Phaseolus polystachios''
*''Phaseolus reticulatus''
*''Phaseolus ritensis''
*''Phaseolus smilacifolius''
Tuerckheimii group
*''Phaseolus chiapasanus''
*''Phaseolus gladiolatus''
*''Phaseolus hintonii''
*''Phaseolus oligospermus''
*''Phaseolus tuerckheimii''
*'' Phaseolus xanthrotrichus''
*''Phaseolus zimapanensis''
Vulgaris group
*''Phaseolus acutifolius''—tepary bean
*''Phaseolus albescens''
*'' Phaseolus coccineus''—runner bean
*'' Phaseolus costaricensis''
*''Phaseolus dumosus''—year bean
*'' Phaseolus parvifolius''
*''Phaseolus persistentus''
*''Phaseolus vulgaris''—common bean, French bean, black bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, green bean
Uncategorized
*''Phaseolus amblyosepalus''
*''Phaseolus anisotrichos''
*''Phaseolus brevicalyx''
*''Phaseolus chacoensis''
*''Phaseolus cibellii''
*''Phaseolus galactoides''
*''Phaseolus glabellus''
*''Phaseolus leucanthus''
*''Phaseolus macrolepis''
*''Phaseolus massaiensis''
*'' Phaseolus microcarpus''
*''Phaseolus nelsonii''
*''Phaseolus oaxacanus''
*'' Phaseolus plagiocylix''
*''Phaseolus polymorphus''
*''Phaseolus sonorensis''
*''Phaseolus vulcanicus''

Allergenicity

The ''Phaseolus'' plant has an OPALS plant allergy scale rating of 4 out of 10, indicating moderate potential to cause allergic reactions, exacerbated by over-use of the same plant throughout a garden. Leaves can cause skin rash and old plants often carry Rust (fungus).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q310438

Fabaceae genera
Phaseoleae
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus