I apparently stressed the common beans too much. Two died after setting a single pod, and a third died without setting anything.
The remaining two are purple flowered descendants of a striped bean that I thought might be crosses because they were a different color than the other beans in the pod. Based just on appearances, I think at least one is definitely a cross, although I don’t know which. Their stem color and leaf shape is very different.
Interesting… now could this be from stress like how you got a 5 leaflet bean leaf?
It’s possible, but if so then one of the two is a LOT more adapted. They were all in the same pot, so same soil, same water, same light.
The plant center right is the one with the huge leaves. The one with the thick stem is the only survivor of the original 3, and it’s barely hanging on.
(I said all three died–if you zoom in on the white lid you can see some crumpled, papery leaves. They belong to the thick stem. I think it’s dead, but I’m keeping it for the moment since the stem is still green)
Nice! This one is shaping up to be the winner!
I hope you get a lot of seeds from this one!
Only 1 of the 3 seeds sprouted. I’m thinking straight common bean, but I’m uncertain. I’ll let it go to seed to get an absolute.
What do you think? The seed leaves look normal, but the narrow secondaries…not sure.
Awesome! It is next to impossible to tell just from the leaves.
The best ID features to separate species are flowers & pods.
I don’t notice any seedling cotyledons above ground, does that mean the cotyldeons germinated below ground? If that’s the case, these are Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus) traits.
I hope this ID guide I put together helps.
As for wild tepary beans, the leaves are a helpful ID trait (Usally being much more narrow). However domesticated Tepary bean leaves can have relatively wide leaves making it nearly useless as an ID trait to distinguish it from other species.
Leaves of Tepary Beans (Phaseolus acutifolius)
Leaves of Runner Beans (Phaseolus coccineus)
Leaves of Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
I guess you could say Tepary Bean leaves are more triangular & less round/oval.
But some Common Bean leaves can also be quite triangular.
and if it is indeed a hybrid, it only becomes harder to tell as it will have to be intermediate between species. In hindsight it would be helpful if you took pictures of the parents & then compare & contrast with potential hybrid offspring, something I will take notes of when making the hybrids myself.
Cotyledons emerged aboveground but fell off pretty quickly.
The plant is really pale and weak. I think I made a mistake in using a commercial hydroponics nutrient mix rather than my home-made mix. I also transferred plants to hydroponics that were already blooming, which creates massive transplant shock.
I’ll try to save it, but it may be time to start over.
That might be the best thing to do.
The hydroponics mix is only 5-4-3 as mixed in the instructions, which seems really off.
I haven’t used hydroponics much or the fertilizers needed thus know even less.
I just found this thread and will be watching with enthusiasm!
Runner beans grow amazing and can perennialize well in our zone 7b climate, but the problem is their flowers don’t set seeds in our hot arid summers. The flowers just drop off. I’m not sure why. They only start producing pods in the late fall and as the temperatures cool down and frosts come on, there is only a short window for ripening. Most of my seed is picked from green pods and dried down inside.
I’ve put together a diverse mix and haven’t given up on the chance that they can adapt to setting seed in hot days. I’m selecting all the earliest seed and making sure to replant it each year. But I’m guessing there are low chances of that happening, so I’m following this thread in case someone crosses tepary and/or vulgaris into runner beans! If runner beans produced all summer, I’d have it made with a perennial dry bean as a staple for our family’s diet.
I just recently heard an interview with Ken of Oikos Tree Crops on Propaganda by the Seed podcast (linked below). He talks about perennial bean work he’s done over the years, including crossing Thicket Bean with Lima bean to develop a cold tolerant perennial lima bean. After two decades he’s made some promising progress, and is even offering seed through his website, (more info here) but it’s limited and sold out at the moment.
I thought I’d this that in case it helps anyone’s perennial lima bean project have a jump start!
Anyway, if anyone ends up making crosses with runner beans and needs help growing out F2 or F3 to look for interesting traits, I’d be very interested!
BEAN ID
this is from the Fukuoka 's Hot weather Mix. Google lens said it is Phaseolus dumosus.
Would that be correct? Last week I planted it with some diverse Runner and Common beans.
I’ve read beans don’t set pods well in intense heat Phaseolus vulgaris & Phaseolus coccienus types don’t set pods well in intense heat. I’ve also read they are known to not ripen seeds fully in shorter climates. (But P. acutifolius is more heat tolerant?), I’ve heard some varieties of Vigna unguiculata do better in the heat but Macrotyloma uniflorum & Vigna aconotifolia are among the most heat/drought tolerant legumes. Worth checking those out.
Might also be interesting to see if your beans set flowers in the shade better?
How many Runner bean varsities have you tried? Might be worth crossing *Phaseolus coccienus x Phaseolus vulgaris to recreate Phaseolus dumosus & select back for more perennial runner bean traits you enjoy (but first step getting it to set seed reliable where you grow it).
Heard of that guy, I’ve even discussed it here before : Lima Bean Landrace Project (Phaseolus lunatus) - #15 by VeggieSavage
Google lens is Wrong! 100% not a Phaseolus spp. because it doesn’t have the classic nutstack hilum (that look like a pair of testicles 
- I know it’s silly but that’s how you distinguish them).
My best guess is these look like some kind of Soybean (Glycine max). Altho I’ve never seen a soybean variety with a hilum highlighted brown. Here’s what soybean hilums look like
Very similar so maybe this might be some other species in the Glycininae subtribe.
hmm… hold up this might be some kind of Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) with it’s hilum outgrowth completely removed but those are usually way much more rounder.
Here’s what Piegon Pea seeds hilums look like
I remember now, this:
https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/interest-in-growing-year-long-bean-phaseolus-dumosus/
None of those photos in the link above look like those 3 I planted. When they grow I’ll find out. Those I planted have a set of true leaves now, although some have not come up at all yet.
I think an interesting idea would be trying to hyper trophy the tuber component, I mean most xerophytes form tubers to begin with as storage vessels for water, nutrition etc. so if done right it could convey more drought tolerance if focused on as a trait instead of just a “huh it makes edible tubers, lets not do anything with that”
You know I wonder what if you have Sword Beans (Canavalia gladiata)? I haven’t studied them enough but after seeing this : Sword Beans Seeds [Canavalia gladiata] - Rangamalai Organic Farms - Manvasanai
Your bean seeds look very familiar.
Agreed! Altho I wonder do Tepary beans do well where you live? They make no big tuber to store water, I think they have a different strategy to survive dry conditions.
Have you also tried growing Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) & Horsegram (Macrotyloma uniflorum)? Both are very dry adapted edible legumes, both also annual.
Im in western NC so I can grow most cultivars without water/heat issues. But I’m attempting to try to produce something that could survive the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.
ooh! That’s a harsh climate, have you looked at the plants that already grow there? I think it’s worth looking into their strategy for survival and how plants adapted to thrive there. Maybe they have deep big roots, maybe the grow in the short windows of rain the region gets, maybe they store water in thick leaves like cactus, maybe they occupy a niche micro-climate, maybe you could create said microclimate with pioneer species & fungal sponges (or why rocks help slow down the flow of a river & thus more water is able to remain where it’s needed), etc.
I highlighted that region in INaturalist for bean family relatives : Observations · iNaturalist
Honey Mesqite (Neltuma glandulosa) a wild edible tree legume with sweet pods may be worth exploring, if not maybe a great tree to grow beans under to shield from intense sun?
There is also a few Tepary Bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) observations found in that region, those will probably do well there. So a good idea to incorporate that species genetic’s into your Phaseolus hybrid landrace.
