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Phaseolus coccineus
Fabaceae FAMILY

Phaseolus coccineus

Phaseolus coccineus

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Large quantities of the raw mature seed are poisonous[1, 2]. The toxins play a role in protecting the plant from insect predation.

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial Climber
GrowthFast

The runner bean is a plant of higher elevations in the tropics, where it can be grown at elevations from 1,400 - 2,800 metres. It can also be grown at lower elevations in the subtropics and as an annual crop in the temperate zone. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 12 - 26°c, but can tolerate 5 - 30°c[3]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures to just below freezing, but young growth can be severely damaged at 1°c[PFAF]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 800 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 400 - 2,600mm[3]. Requires a warm sheltered sunny position in a rich well-drained soil with plenty of moisture in the growing season[4, 5, 6, 7]. Dislikes heavy, wet or acid soils[5]. Soíls in the wild are often rocky, ranging from very sandy granitíc with mica to rocky limestone with lots of humus, and may be yellow, red or black. Plants are usually found in very moist locations[8]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 8.2[3]. Plants commence flowering about 40 - 60 days after sowing the seed[9]. Plants flower under long day conditions, which is ideal for temperate regions[7]. Harvesting of the immature pods can commence around 3 months after sowing and can easily continue for 2 - 3 months[9, 10]. Mature seed can be harvested 4 - 5 months after sowing[9]. When grown for their edible pods, the immature pods should be harvested regularly in order to promote extra flower production and therefore higher yields[7]. In the UK, yields of green pods are reported to average 9 - 14 tonnes per hectare[3]. In Kenya, yields of dry seeds from smallholder production have been estimated to be about 0.9 - 1.5 tonnes per hectare[3]. Plants are perennials but are often grown as annuals, especially in the temperate zone. In the tropics the plants will crop for two to several years[3]. There are many named varieties[11]. Most varieties are climbing plants but some dwarf forms have been developed[7]. The plants might need some protection from slugs since these creatures adore the young shoots in the spring[PFAF]. Runner beans grow well with carrots, cauliflowers, cucumbers, cabbage, leek and celeriac[12, 13]. They are inhibited by alliums and fennel growing nearby[12, 13]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[7].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and sow in mid spring in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 10 days. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts. The seed can also be sown in situ in late spring though it may not ripen its seed in a cool summer. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Phaseolus+coccineus>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants and Animals. — Altmann. H. · Chatto and Windus · 1980 · ISBN 0-7011-2526-8 ↩︎A small book, reasonable but not very detailed.
  2. [2]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  6. [6]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Taxonomy, Distribution, and Ecology of the Genus Phaseolus (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in North America, Mexico and — Freytag G.F. & Debouck D.G. · Botanical Researeh Institute of Texas · 2002 · http://www.brit.org/sida · ISBN 1-889878-11-1 ↩︎An excellent, detailed study of the genus Phaseolus, it has been made available on-line as an open access document.
  9. [9]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  10. [10]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  11. [11]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  12. [12]Companion Plants. — Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. · Watkins · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
  13. [13]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.
  14. [14]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  15. [15]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  17. [17]Edible Leaves of the Tropics — Martin. F. W.; Ruberte. R. M. & Meitzner. L. S. · Echo. USA. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9653360-1-8 ↩︎A terse guide, giving reasonable detail on the more common leaf crops and brief information on a wide range of lesser known plants.
  18. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎