Phaseolus coccineus#Usage

File:Scarlet Runner beans.jpg

This species originated in the mountains of Central America. It was most likely cultivated in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala around 2000 BC.{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Pearman |first1=Georgina |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=146 |isbn=0415927463}} 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 {{convert|3|m|ft}} or more in length,{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4BOysBQrs0|title=Scarlet Runner Beans – GROWS 10' TALL!! Ancient Beans for Cool Weather|date=18 August 2012|work=YouTube}} its pods can get to {{convert|25|cm|inch}}, and its beans can be up to {{convert|2.5|cm|inch}} or more.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gardenia.net/plant/phaseolus-coccineus|title=Phaseolus coccineus - Runner Beans|accessdate=2023-11-18}}www.gardenia.net

It differs from the common bean (P. vulgaris) in several respects: the cotyledons stay in the ground during germination, and the plant is a perennial vine with tuberous roots (though it is frequently treated as an annual in colder climates).{{cn|date=June 2024}}

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'.{{cite web |url = http://www.aeronvale-allotments.org.uk/aeronpurplestar|title = Aeron Purple Star Runner Bean Seeds|access-date = 2014-09-13}}

Runner beans have also been called "Oregon lima bean",{{cite web|url=http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/scarlet.html|title=The Beekeeping Resource Leader – Bee Culture Magazine|work=Bee Culture|access-date=2010-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707222532/http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/scarlet.html|archive-date=2011-07-07|url-status=dead}} and in Nahuatl ayocotl or in Spanish ayocote. Runner beans, like all beans, contain the toxic protein phytohaemagglutinin and thus should be cooked well before eating.{{Cite web|url=https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2385/|title=Beans! Beans! The Poisonous Fruit! - Dave's Garden|website=davesgarden.com|access-date=2018-07-24}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Mahr |first1=Susan |title=Scarlet Runner Bean, Phaseolus coccineus |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/scarlet-runner-bean-phaseolus-coccineus/ |website=Wisconsin Horticulture |publisher=University of Wisconsin - Madison |access-date=16 November 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Dove |first1=Helena |last2=McHale |first2=Ellen |title=Bountiful beans |url=https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/runner-beans-kitchen-garden |website=Royal Botanic Garden Kew |access-date=16 November 2022}}

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.

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.{{cite web|url=http://eng.judionesdelagranja.com/2008/09/07/judiones/|title=Judiones|date=7 September 2008|access-date=8 November 2008|work=Judiones de la Granja}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://eng.judionesdelagranja.com/2008/06/22/judiones-de-la-granja-recipe/|title=Judiones de La Granja recipe|date=22 June 2008|access-date=8 November 2008|work=Judiones de la Granja}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/list.html?recordStart=0&recordPerPage=10&recordEnd=10&sort.milestone=desc&filter.dossierNumber=&filter.comboName=gigantes&filterMin.milestone__mask=&filterMin.milestone=&filterMax.milestone__mask=&filterMax.milestone=&filter.country=&filter.category=&filter.type=&filter.status=REGISTERED|title=DOOR|work=europa.eu}} 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.menshealth.com/recipes/greek-elephant-beans|title=Greek Elephant Beans|date=2016-03-31|newspaper=Men's Health|access-date=2016-12-26}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/recipes/2010/03/03/baked_elephant_beans.html|title=Baked elephant beans {{!}} Toronto Star|newspaper=The Toronto Star|date=3 March 2010|access-date=2016-12-26}} 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.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

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.

Cultivars include:[http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/phas_coc.cfm Phaseolus coccineus.] FloriData.

• 'Aeron Purple Star' (not available commercially)
• 'Black Runner'
• 'Butler'
• 'Case Knife'
• 'Fasolia gigantes', a white bean which originated in Greece.
• 'Hammond's Dwarf'
• 'Japanese Runner', sold in Canada and USA under the names of "Akahana"{{cite web |last1=Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners |title='Akahana Fujimame' Beans |url=http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/main/detail.php?variety_id=4618&filterBy=0 |website=vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu/ |publisher=Cornell Garden Based Learning, Cornell University College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Horticulture Section |access-date=16 April 2023}} "Japanese hyacinth pole bean. Vines bear red flowers and flat, thick and curved pods". or "Shinshu runner"{{cite web |last1=No Coast Seeds |title=Bean - Shinshu Runner |url=https://nocoastseeds.ca/products/bean-shinshu-runner |website=nocoastseeds.ca |access-date=16 April 2023}}
• 'Painted Lady'
• 'Pickwick Dwarf'
• 'Polestar'
• 'Scarlet Runner'
• 'White Dutch Runner'

P. coccineus subsp. darwinianus is a cultivated subspecies, commonly referred to as the botil bean in Mexico.

The related species considered most useful for interbreeding with P. coccineus to increase its genetic diversity are P. dumosus and P. vulgaris.{{cite web|url=http://www.cwrdiversity.org/checklist/genepool-details.php?id%5b%5d=35|title=The Harlan and de Wet Crop Wild Relative Inventory – chapter: Phaseolus coccineus|access-date=12 Sep 2013|publisher=Global Crop Diversity Trust, the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and the Government of Norway}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

File:Stick beans for sale on a UK greengrocer's market stall in August 2013.jpg|Runner (stick) beans for sale on a UK market stall

File:BeanSeedsScarletRunner.jpg|Seeds of 'Scarlet Emperor'

File:JudiaLaGranja.jpg|Spanish variety Judión de la Granja

File:Kaeferbohnensalat.jpg|Austrian "Käferbohnen salad" that contains pumpkin seed oil and sliced onions

File:Flat beans raw.jpg|Flat beans are often eaten in India. normally cooked and served as the whole pods that have a characteristic wide and flat shape.

File:Giant beans (Gigantes).jpg| Giant beans, a Mediterranean side dish: cooked runner beans in tomato sauce.

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coccineus

Category:Crops originating from the Americas

Category:Edible legumes

Category:Perennial vegetables

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus