Lima Bean Plant Information

Commonly known both as butter beans and lima beans--after Lima, Peru--the story of Phaseolus lunatus is in many ways intertwined with that of P. vulgaris, or the common bean, a species that takes in snap beans as well as dry types including red kidney, navy and pinto beans. Both are all-American nutritional superstars, with the lima bean stretching its roots to include South and Central America.

History

Guatemala gets credit as the original home of what we now know as the lima bean. The movement of various “prehistoric varieties” has been traced along Indian trade routes. One migration came through Mexico into the U.S. Southwest, then continued through the South and from Florida north to Virginia. Another went the other direction, to South America and Peru. Concentrated, nutritious foods including dry lima and common beans were highly prized by 16th-century explorers and traders. American beans soon arrived in Europe, India, Africa, the East Indies and the Philippines.

Types

Not surprisingly, given their geography and history, lima beans come in many flavors, textures, sizes, shapes and colors or color combinations, though some of this diversity has been lost in commercial U.S. agriculture. Smaller limas include butterbeans or baby limas in the South and Sieva beans in the East. They descend from those Guatemalan varieties that came north through Mexico, still grown by Hopis and other American Indians. The very large Fordhook beans most people know as limas come from varieties discovered in Lima, Peru, by European explorers.

Nutrition

Both types of lima beans pack a lot of nutrition into a small package. A one-fourth cup serving of dry butterbeans or baby limas--which generally have a creamier, more delicate flavor--delivers 10 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber and 32 grams of complex carbohydrates, for a total of 170 calories, just five of those from fat. The same serving size of larger Fordhook limas have just 150 calories, no fat, 10 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber and 28 grams of carbohydrate.

Features

Until fairly recently, all cultivated lima beans were of the vining, pole-bean form, but in 1875 the bush variety was developed. This change led to large-scale bean cultivation and mechanical harvesting. With the exception of some heirloom varieties, most lima beans can be cultivated in either bush or pole forms, just like snap beans. Like all other beans and peas, lima beans are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen to provide some of their own essential nutrients.

Cultivation

Both types of lima beans are considered a cool weather crop that won’t survive the blistering summer heat that suits snap beans. Baby limas or butter beans, descendants of Southwestern varieties--cultivars include Dixie and Henderson--are more heat tolerant than the larger Fordhook varieties with ancestry from the Andes and along the cool, moist Peruvian coast. Lima beans do best in well-drained, medium or light loam with a slightly acidic pH of between 5.8 and 6.5. Cool nights, consistent soil moisture, temperatures lower than 90 degrees F and foggy or humid conditions support optimal pollination and pod set.

References

• Texas A&M University Extension: Two New Beans from America
• University of Delaware Extension: Successful Lima Bean Production in Delaware
• Oregon State University Extension: Lima Beans
• University of Florida IFAS Extension: Florida Food Fare - Butter Beans and Lima Beans

Resources

• Victory Seeds: Lima & Butter Beans
• Heirloom Seeds: Beans