Phaseolus angustissimus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Phaseolus
Species:
P. angustissimus
Binomial name
Phaseolus angustissimus
A. Gray

Phaseolus angustissimus (common name slimleaf bean) is a perennial, herbaceous vine of the Fabaceae (legume) family, native to the American Southwest (particularly, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), as well as northern Sonora, Mexico.[1][2][3][4] It is a close relative of the cultivated tepary bean (P. acutifolius), also native to the same region.

Description

Phaseolus angustissimus is a perennial, herbaceous vine (to 2 meters) which trails along rocky, eroded hillsides.[3][4] Its leaflets are distinctively narrow and waxy, it has a very deep, slightly thickened taproot, its flowers are magenta to purple and face upwards from the ground, and its pods are small and curved, yielding 2-4 seeds with a ridged seed coat and hypogeal germination.[3][4] P. angustissimus has shown freezing resistance in field trials in Canada.[5]

Uses

The Zuni people rub the crushed leaves, blossoms and powdered root on a child's body as a strengthener.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Plants Profile for Phaseolus angustissimus (slimleaf bean)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  2. ^ "SEINet Portal Network - Phaseolus angustissimus". swbiodiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  3. ^ a b c Freytag, George F. (2002). Taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of the genus Phaseolus (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in North America, Mexico and Central America. Debouck, Daniel G. Fort Worth, Tex.: BRIT. ISBN 1-889878-11-1. OCLC 52480039.
  4. ^ a b c Buhrow, Russ (1983). "The Wild Beans of Southwestern North America" (PDF). Desert Plants.
  5. ^ Balasubramanian, P; Vandenberg, A; Hucl, P; Gusta, L (2002). "Physiology of freezing resistance in the genus Phaseolus". Annual Rep. Bean Improvement Coop. 45: 6–7.
  6. ^ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 85)


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