Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Phaseolus vulgaris
open-in-new
<p><i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i>, the common bean, is a <a href="/facts/Herbaceous/u6myDhE2">herbaceous</a> <a href="/facts/Annual_plant/SkPv72DA">annual plant</a> grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or <a href="/facts/Green_bean/Mf27XFPC">green, unripe pods</a>. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a <a href="/facts/Leaf_vegetable/K30EKvpd">vegetable</a> and the <a href="/facts/Straw/hqULAcwx">straw</a> as <a href="/facts/Fodder/b4Hw0Lq0">fodder</a>. Its <a href="/facts/Plant_taxonomy/vr5BKfLQ">botanical classification</a>, along with other <i><a href="/facts/Phaseolus/3JLzd8wX">Phaseolus</a></i> species, is as a member of the <a href="/facts/Legume/x6s6gVHY">legume</a> family, <a href="/facts/Fabaceae/uxuHNdAr">Fabaceae</a>. Like most members of this family, common beans acquire the <a href="/facts/Nitrogen/Nf1QpGDz">nitrogen</a> they require through an association with <a href="/facts/Rhizobia/xGRcYg5h">rhizobia</a>, which are <a href="/facts/Nitrogen_fixation/TeLoBpWS">nitrogen-fixing</a> <a href="/facts/Bacteria/wC8xSCsU">bacteria</a>. </p><p>The common bean has a long history of cultivation. All wild members of the species have a climbing habit, but many <a href="/facts/Cultivar/nfaLJJM3">cultivars</a> are classified either as <i>bush beans</i> or <i>climbing beans</i>, depending on their style of growth. The other major types of commercially grown beans are the runner bean (<i><a href="/facts/Phaseolus_coccineus/B3rtgMx6">Phaseolus coccineus</a></i>) and the broad bean (<i><a href="/facts/Vicia_faba/KPxa7j4I">Vicia faba</a></i>). </p><p>Beans are grown on every continent except Antarctica. In 2022, 28 million <a href="/facts/Tonne/gMymLmWv">tonnes</a> of dry common beans were produced worldwide, led by India with 23% of the total. </p><p>Raw dry beans contain the toxic compound <a href="/facts/Phytohaemagglutinin/Nl8AMfW4">phytohaemagglutinin</a>, which can be deactivated by cooking beans for ten minutes at <a href="/facts/Boiling_point/E2BK9QoS">boiling point</a> (100 °C, 212 °F). The U.S. <a href="/facts/Food_and_Drug_Administration/rCEnh9WB">Food and Drug Administration</a> also recommends an initial soak of at least 5 hours in water which should then be discarded. </p>