Botanical Aspects of Phaseolus vulgaris

Common names: Common bean, Kidney bean

Phaseolus vulgaris belongs to the botanical family of Leguminosae. It is a sub-erect or twining annual herb, native of tropical America and now grown extensively throughout the warm regions of the world. The leaves are trifoliate; flowers white to violet-purple; pods slender, 10-26 cm long, straight or slightly curved, the surface glabrous or faintly pubescent, the beak prominent.Seeds more or less kidney shaped, elongated or nearly globular or somewhat compressed; white, red, purple blackish or mottled in appearance.

Varieties of common bean have been classified variously; some classifications are based on morphological characters of the plant, pod and seeds, while others are based on their mode of use.