Phaseolus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

 of about fifty plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, all native to the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

.

At least four of the species have been domesticated

Domestication

Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...

 since pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 times for their bean

Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

s. Most prominent among these is the common bean

Common bean

Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. The leaf is occasionally used as a leaf vegetable, and the straw is used for fodder...

, P. vulgaris, which today is cultivated worldwide in tropical, semitropical and temperate climate

Climate

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...

s.

Previous classifications placed in this genus a number of other well known species that have now been removed to genus Vigna

Vigna

The genus Vigna is in the plant family Fabaceae. The genus is named after Domenico Vigna, an Italian botanist of the 17th century. They include some well-known and other less well-known beans formerly — and sometimes still, especially in non-scholarly sources — included in the genus Phaseolus...

, sometimes necessitating a change of species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 name. For example, older literature refers to the mung bean

Mung bean

The mung bean is the seed of Vigna radiata. It is native to the Indian subcontinent.-Description:They are small, ovoid in shape, and green in color...

 as Phaseolus aureus, whereas more modern sources classify it as Vigna radiata. Similarly, the snail bean Vigna caracalla

Vigna caracalla

Vigna caracalla is leguminous vine from the family Fabaceae, originating in tropical South America and Central America. The species is named caracalla, meaning that it comes from Caracas in Venezuela....

was discovered in 1753 and in 1970 moved from Phaseolus to Vigna. The modern understanding of Phaseolus indicates a genus endemic to the New World alone.

Phaseolus species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species including Common Swift

Common Swift (moth)

The Common Swift is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It was previously placed in the genus Hepialus. It is a common, often abundant European species....

, Garden Dart

Garden Dart

The Garden Dart is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.This is a rather drab species, forewings ranging from pale to dark brown with indistinct markings. The hindwings are white with a grey fringe. The wingspan is 32-40 mm...

, Ghost Moth

Ghost Moth

The Ghost Moth , also known as the Ghost Swift, is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe except for the far south-east...

 Hypercompe albicornis

Hypercompe

Hypercompe is a genus of moths of the family Arctiidae. There are over 80 species found throughout the Americas. Several species were formerly separated in Ecpantheria which is now regarded as a junior synonym. They are typically large moths with white forewings heavily spotted with black, and...

, Hypercompe icasia

Hypercompe

Hypercompe is a genus of moths of the family Arctiidae. There are over 80 species found throughout the Americas. Several species were formerly separated in Ecpantheria which is now regarded as a junior synonym. They are typically large moths with white forewings heavily spotted with black, and...

, the Nutmeg

Nutmeg (moth)

The nutmeg , also known as the clover cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe although in the north of its range it is a summer migrant, not being able to survive the cold winters.This is a small to medium species with cryptically coloured forewings, varying from...

 and various caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

 species.

Species include:

Phaseolus acutifolius

Tepary bean

Phaseolus acutifolius, the Tepary bean, is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times. It is more drought-resistant than the common bean and is grown in desert and semi-desert conditions from Arizona through Mexico...

— Tepary bean

Phaseolus aegypticus — Pea bean

Phaseolus amblyosepalus

Phaseolus angustissimus

Phaseolus anisotrichos

Phaseolus augustii

Phaseolus brevicalyx

Phaseolus chacoensis

Phaseolus cibellii

Phaseolus coccineus

Runner bean

Phaseolus coccineus, the runner bean or scarlet runner bean since most varieties have red flowers and multicolored seeds, though some have white flowers and white seeds, is a plant in the Fabaceae family. Runner beans have also been called "Oregon Lima Bean". and in Nahuatl "ayocotl" or in Spanish...

— Runner bean

Phaseolus filiformis

Phaseolus filiformis

Phaseolus filiformis is a species of wild bean native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its common names include slimjim bean, slender-stem bean, and Wright's phaseolus. This plant resembles other beans in appearance, with leaves composed of lobed triangular leaflets and pink...

— Slimjim bean

Phaseolus galactoides

Phaseolus glabellus

Phaseolus grayanus

Phaseolus harmsianus

Phaseolus harmsianus

Phaseolus harmsianus is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Neill, D. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....

Phaseolus latidenticulatus

Phaseolus leucanthus

Phaseolus lunatus — Lima bean, butter bean

Phaseolus maculatus

Phaseolus maculatus

Phaseolus maculatus is a plant native to Mexico and the southwestern United States from Arizona to Texas. It is often used as livestock forage, and it is cited as a gene source for disease resistance in Lima bean by Germplasm Resources Information Network.-External links:**...

— Spotted bean

Phaseolus massaiensis

Phaseolus micranthus

Phaseolus microcarpus

Phaseolus nelsonii

Phaseolus oaxacanus

Phaseolus pachyrrhizoides

Phaseolus parvulus

Phaseolus pedicellatus

Phaseolus plagiocylix

Phaseolus pluriflorus

Phaseolus polymorphus

Phaseolus polystachios

Phaseolus polytylus

Phaseolus ritensis

Phaseolus rimbachii

Phaseolus rimbachii

Phaseolus rimbachii is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Neill, D. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....

Phaseolus rosei

Phaseolus rosei

Phaseolus rosei is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:* Neill, D. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....

Phaseolus sonorensis

Phaseolus tuerckheimii

Phaseolus vulcanicus

Phaseolus vulgaris

Common bean

Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. The leaf is occasionally used as a leaf vegetable, and the straw is used for fodder...

— Common bean, black bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, green bean

Phaseolus xanthotrichus
Ref: ILDIS Version 6.05

External links

• Crop Wild Relatives Gap Analysis Portal reliable information source on where and what to conserve ex-situ, regarding Phaseolus genepool