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Slimleaf bean

Phaseolus angustissimus

Slimleaf bean
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0

Slimleaf bean is a perennial climbing or trailing vine of the legume family, native to the dry Southwest US and northern Mexico, where it grows on rocky, eroded hillsides. It is a wild relative of the tepary bean and is mainly grown for its deep taproot and hardiness in dry conditions.

Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Grows as
Climber, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or rocky soil; avoid heavy clay.
Temperature
Warm, dry conditions; field trials show freezing resistance, but protect young plants from hard frost.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Arizona to Texas and N. Mexico
Climate
desert or dry shrubland

About

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. It is a close relative of the cultivated tepary bean (P. acutifolius), also native to the same region.

Uses

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

Other Phaseolus plants

Tepary bean · Scarlet runner · Year Bean · Slimjim bean · Phaseolus glabellus · Gray's Bean · Bean · Lima bean · Spotted bean · Few Flowered Bean · Thicket bean · Santa Rita Mountain bean

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phaseolus angustissimus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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