Re: runner beans

Edible. Phaseolus coccineus "Hestia". The non-dwarf P. coccineus is a perennial bean [like lablab]. Native to the highlands of Central America. Apparently grows a large, starchy root that is also edible. Lablab may be edible, too--depends on who you listen to. Some sources [U North Carolina, I think] say it's mildly poisonous and gives people a bellyache. Others [U if Florida, I think] say it's perfectly edible and a staple in south Asia, although some people have difficulty digesting it. 

On Mar 26, 2007, at 8:13 AM, TeichFlora@aol.com wrote:


Jim, these are very pretty!!   I'm a bit behind here....so pardon  the
question if it has been mentioned. Are they ornamental or edible, and what is the botanical name, please??? I love the Hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) since it is beautiful, and useful (don't think it is edible, but it is the host plant for the beautiful Long tailed Skipper). Unfortunately it gets quite 
large.  No room for  anymore vines that take over.
Hadn't had a freeze in years, so this last one really knocked everything back. Hadn't seen the yard this bare in a while. Perfect opportunity though to wack things back. Took all the vines and shrubs down to a couple feet. Already miss the blooms this spring, but at least the yard got cleaned out a bit. So surprised how many things made it through the 23 degrees without sustaining damage. Most plants only lost their foliage, but quite a few others didn't suffer a bit. Of course the freeze only lasted a short time, and the temps were warm for weeks before and then after again, but still....23!!! Did 
have a couple weeks of wet  cooler weather, but no freezes.
Did lose a few things...like a couple of Dischidia, and hoyas that were mounted. Bromeliads and orchids made it through without any damage. Fruit trees didn't mind at all....citrus is all blooming, even the Satsuma that I thought had died. Miracle fruit did fine too, but the Peanut butter tree did lose 
it's foliage and I'm hoping it comes back too.

Noreen
zone 9
Texas Gulf Coast



In a message dated 3/25/2007 11:02:18 AM Central Daylight Time,
gardenchat-owner@hort.net writes:


Dwarf runner bean photos, Yahoo  willing.

http://snipurl.com/tqpw

Island  Jim
************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. 
 Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT



Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.1 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Sunset Zone 25
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index