Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical grassland

Range

Central America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Rare

About

The lima bean is a tropical legume cultivated for over 4,000 years across the Americas, named after Lima, Peru. Raw seeds contain linamarin, a cyanogenic glycoside that breaks down to hydrogen cyanide — cooking destroys it entirely, turning a mild toxin into one of the world's most important food crops.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• Read on Wikipedia →
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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Fabales

Family

Fabaceae

Genus

Phaseolus

Species

Phaseolus lunatus