Plant Story: Scarlet Runner Bean, So Handsome

My husband won't eat green beans. It is the one vegetable he totally rejects. But last summer I grew runner beans. Not as food, but because I think they're beautiful.

scarlet runner bean, Phaseolus coccineus

Runner beans, often called scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), are closely related to common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Both are native to the Americas, but scarlet runner beans are from mountainous areas in Central America, and were domesticated about 2,000 years ago. They reached Europe in the 1500s and became both an important vegetable and an ornamental. They are much less often grown in the United States. I recommend them!