A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways, including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame, but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking.
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (V. planifolia).
The cocoa bean, also known simply as cocoa or cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
Pea is a pulse, vegetable or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name Pisum sativum in 1753. Some sources now treat it as Lathyrus oleraceus; however the need and justification for the change is disputed. Each pod contains several seeds (peas), which can have green or yellow cotyledons when mature. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, the seeds from several species of Lathyrus and is used as a compound form for example Sturt's desert pea.
Ricinus communis, the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of castor and its relation to other species are currently being studied using modern genetic tools. It reproduces with a mixed pollination system which favors selfing by geitonogamy but at the same time can be an out-crosser by anemophily or entomophily.
The radish is a flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Its large taproot is commonly used as a root vegetable, although the entire plant is edible and its leaves are sometimes used as a leaf vegetable. Originally domesticated in Asia, radishes are now grown and consumed throughout the world. The radish is sometimes considered to form a species complex with the wild radish, and instead given the trinomial name Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus.
The carob is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit, which takes the form of seed pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes. The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Portugal is the largest producer of carob, followed by Italy and Morocco.
The mung bean or green gram is a plant species in the legume family. The mung bean is mainly cultivated in East, Southeast and South Asia. It is used as an ingredient in both savoury and sweet dishes.
The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
A lima bean, also commonly known as butter bean, sieva bean, double bean or Madagascar bean, is a legume grown for its edible seeds or beans.
Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its botanical classification, along with other Phaseolus species, is as a member of the legume family, Fabaceae. Like most members of this family, common beans acquire the nitrogen they require through an association with rhizobia, which are nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
The winged bean, also known as cigarillas, goa bean, four-angled bean, four-cornered bean, manila bean, princess bean, star bean, kamrangi bean, pea, dragon bean, is a tropical herbaceous legume plant.
Vigna aconitifolia is a drought-resistant legume, commonly grown in arid and semi-arid regions of India. It is commonly called mat bean, moth bean, matki or dew bean. The pods, sprouts and protein-rich seeds of this crop are commonly consumed in India. Moth bean can be grown on many soil types, and can also act as a pasture legume.
The asparagus bean is a legume cultivated for its edible green pods containing immature seeds, like the green bean. It is also known as: yardlong bean, pea bean, long-podded cowpea, Chinese long bean, snake bean, bodi, and bora. Despite the common name of "yardlong", the pods are actually only about half a yard long, so the subspecies name sesquipedalis is a more accurate approximation.
The snap pea, also known as the sugar snap pea, is an edible-pod pea with rounded pods and thick pod walls, in contrast to snow pea pods, which are flat with thin walls. The name mangetout can apply to snap peas and snow peas.
Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean, although immature or young pods of the runner bean, yardlong bean, and hyacinth bean are used in a similar way. Green beans are known by many common names, including French beans, string beans, and snap beans or simply "snaps." In the Philippines, they are also known as "Baguio beans" or "habichuelas" to distinguish them from yardlong beans.
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit, or heirloom vegetable is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particularly in isolated communities of the Western world. These were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are not used in modern large-scale agriculture.
Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the poppy plant. The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, especially in Central Europe and South Asia, where it is legally grown, used in food products and sold in shops. The seeds are used whole or ground into meal as an ingredient in many foods – especially in pastry and bread – and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil.
Archidendron pauciflorum, commonly known as djenkol, jengkol or jering, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, where the seeds are also a popular dish. They are mainly consumed in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, prepared by frying, boiling, or roasting, and eaten raw. The beans are mildly toxic due to the presence of djenkolic acid, an amino acid that causes djenkolism. The beans and leaves of the djenkol tree are traditionally used for medicinal purposes, such as purifying the blood. To date, djenkol is traded on local markets only.
Dragon tongue bean, or dragon tongue shelling bean, is young green bean of cranberry bean, pinto bean in the species Phaseolus vulgaris.
