PlantFiles: Lima Bean
Phaseolus lunatus 'Willow Leaf'

Excellent pole "butter bean"! Very good tasting bean! Mighty fine eaten fresh or dried! (I often break into my seed stock during the Winter just to have a pot of these from time to time!)

NOTE: If collecting seed don't allow to "dry on the vine" too long...The pods will break open, shatter, and all the seeds will fly all over the place. I'd suggest letting the pods get tannish/brown then pull them from the vines and let them dry either in paper bags (left open) or on screens.

This the traditional Willow Leaf. Its distinguishing characteristic is the shape of the leaf, which is long and slender. A good producer, it will bear three crops, beginnng in midsummer and ending at frost. In middle Ga, that means July to Mid November. Tends to bear a crop, bloom again when the beans are picked and continue that cycle till frost. Pods are tyical of a baby lima, three to three and one half inches and average 3-4 beans per pod.