Phaseolus

Phaseolus
P. vulgaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Subtribe: Phaseolinae
Genus: Phaseolus
L.
Species

see text

Phaseolus (bean, wild bean)[1] is a genus in the family Fabaceae containing about 70 plant species, all native to the Americas, primarily Mexico.[2]

At least four of the species have been domesticated since pre-Columbian times for their beans.[3] Most prominent among these is the common bean, P. vulgaris, which today is cultivated worldwide in tropical, semitropical, and temperate climates.

Previous classifications placed in this genus a number of other well-known species that have now been removed to 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 to the New World alone.

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,[4] borrowed from the Latin phaseolus a combination of phasēlus and the diminutive suffix -olus, in turn borrowed from Greek φάσηλος 'cowpea'[5] (often incorrectly glossed as 'kidney bean', a New World crop), whose ultimate origin is unknown.[6]

Species

Species include:[7]

  • Phaseolus acutifolius—tepary bean
  • Phaseolus amblyosepalus
  • Phaseolus angustissimus A. Gray
  • Phaseolus anisotrichos
  • Phaseolus augustii
  • Phaseolus brevicalyx
  • Phaseolus chacoensis
  • Phaseolus cibellii
  • Phaseolus coccineus—runner bean
  • Phaseolus filiformis—slimjim bean
  • Phaseolus galactoides
  • Phaseolus glabellus
  • Phaseolus grayanus
  • Phaseolus harmsianus
  • Phaseolus leucanthus
  • Phaseolus lunatus—lima bean, butter bean
  • Phaseolus maculatus—spotted bean
  • Phaseolus massaiensis
  • Phaseolus micranthus
  • Phaseolus microcarpus
  • Phaseolus nelsonii
  • Phaseolus oaxacanus
  • Phaseolus pachyrrhizoides
  • Phaseolus parvulus
  • Phaseolus pedicellatus
  • Phaseolus plagiocylix
  • Phaseolus pluriflorus
  • Phaseolus polymorphus
  • Phaseolus polystachios
  • Phaseolus ritensis
  • Phaseolus rimbachii
  • Phaseolus rosei
  • Phaseolus sonorensis
  • Phaseolus tuerckheimii
  • Phaseolus vulcanicus
  • Phaseolus vulgaris—common bean, French bean, black bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, green bean
  • Phaseolus xanthotrichus

References

  1. ↑ "Phaseolus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. ↑ Delgado-Salinas, A.; Thulin, M.; Pasquet, R.; Weeden, N.; Lavin, M. (2011). "Vigna (Leguminosae) sensu lato: the names and identities of the American segregate genera". American Journal of Botany 98 (10): 1694–715. doi:10.3732/ajb.1100069. PMID 21980163.
  3. ↑ Rosales-Serna, R.; Hernández-Delgado, S.; González-Paz, M.; Acosta-Gallegos, J. A.; Mayek-Pérez, N. (2005). "Genetic Relationships and Diversity Revealed by AFLP Markers in Mexican Common Bean Bred Cultivars". Crop Science 45 (5): 1951. doi:10.2135/cropsci2004.0582.
  4. ↑ Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 2:623, cited in Oxford English Dictionary s.v. 'phaseolin'
  5. ↑ Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon s.v. φάσηλος
  6. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary s.v. 'phaseolin'
  7. ↑ ILDIS Version 6.05