Royalty Purple Pod Bush Bean - Heirloom 20 seeds

This bean certainly deserves its name with incredibly attractive deep, rich royal purple colored pods. Highly valued as a fresh snap bean, the string-less pods are 5–6 inches long and slightly curved. Hugely productive as well as highly attractive and ornamental, these bushy plants have very distinctive dark greenish-purple foliage and eye-catching lavender flowers, sending out short runners. Very easy to pick, as the clusters of dark royal purple pods stand out against the leaves.

Buff-colored seeds germinate and grow well even in cool, damp soil. Delicious as a fresh snap bean in salads or a vegetable plate, the shelled beans are very substantial and meaty when cooked lightly in soup or as a side dish. Naturally resistant to the common bean mosaic virus, with the added benefit of being avoided by Mexican bean beetles.

Originally cultivated in Central America, from Mexico to Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. The smaller beans are thought to have been cultivated in Mexico as long as 7,000 years ago, while the larger beans were cultivated in Peru starting 8,000 years ago. High in protein, easy to grow, dry and cook, they have sustained mankind for millennia.

50-60 days to maturity