DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



19 



depressed hilum; prominent or non -prominent hypo- 

 cotyl; ventral or dorsal margin straight or rounded; 

 and seed lop-sided or non-lop-sided. 



No keys are included in this volume, but the 

 arrangement of historical and descriptive material 

 follows the divisions generally accepted by horticulturists 

 as indicated below; which also follows the botanical 

 classification except for the segregation of the field and 

 horticultural groups. 



The Pole Varieties of Garden Beans 



Green Pods 



Wax Pods 

 The Dwarf Varieties of Garden Beans 



Green Pods 



Wax Pods 

 The Horticultural or Shell Beans 



Pole Varieties 



Dwarf Varieties 

 The Field Beans 

 The Lima Beans 



Pole Varieties 



Dwarf Varieties 

 The Runner Beans 



It will be seen that this grouping is also the group- 

 ing used by the seedsman in his catalog. The varieties 

 within each group are arranged alphabetically without 

 further differentiation into those varieties of greater or 

 lesser importance. 



GLOSSARY 

 Acute Sharp-angled; when the angle at the dorsal edge or 



surface of a pod is less than 90 degrees. 

 Anterior With reference to the end of the bean seed nearest 



the micropyle. 

 Apical The upper third of a plant; the growing point or 



apex. 

 Basal The lower third of a plant; the base; the portion 



just above the crown. 

 Bearing The number of days from the first picking to the 



season last, subdivided into early, midseason, or late. 



Bloom A waxy, natural protective substance on seeds, and 



occasionally on leaves, stems and pods. 



Blotched Marked with spots of irregular shape and size. 



Butterfly The more or less distinct wing-like color markings 



markings about the hilum. 



Carpellary The line of splitting on the dorsal surface of the pod 



suture — the opposite of the placental suture. 



Climbing When the growth habit of a plant enables it to 



twine and at the same time cling to a support. 

 Color Flower colors are described by use of Ridgeway 's 



terms; seed colors are given in common color 



terms with the Ridgeway term in parenthesis. 

 Compact When the growth habit of a plant is close; opposed 



to open habit. 

 Constricted . . . When the surface of a pod is alternately depressed 



and swollen to a greater or lesser degree. 

 Cordate When the cross-section of a pod or seed is heart 



shaped; rather deeply indented at the placental 



suture. 

 Crease-backed When the cross-section of a pod shows that the 



placental suture is indented or depressed. 

 Crest With reference to the dorsal or carpellary surface 



of a pod. 

 Crowded When the seeds of a snap pod are very close to- 

 gether, resulting in the formation of beans with 



truncated ends. 



Crumpled Coarsely wrinkled. 



Curved Concave to the horizontal plane of the upper 



(placental) suture. 



Cylindrical. . The shape of the seed or pod approaching that of 

 a cylinder; sides nearly parallel. 



Dorsal The carpellary surface; in the pod it is opposite 



the side to which the seeds are attached; in the 

 seed, the side opposite the hilum. 

 Double- When the cross-section of a pod shows a deep 



barrelled indentation at both the placental and carpellary 



sutures. 



End The distal portion of the pod excluding the spur. 



Elliptical This applies to a cross-section of a pod or seed, 



when its shape is like a narrow ellipse. 

 Erect When the natural growth habit of a plant is up- 

 right; not spreading. 



Eye-ring The more or less distinct color band about the 



hilum. 



Flat This applies to the width and thickness of a pod 



or seed when the cross-section of either is elliptical 

 or nearly so. 



Fleshy When a large portion of the pod is succulent and 



meaty; with a minimum amount of parchment and 

 string. 



Fiber The tough layer of parchment in the walls of a 



bean pod, varying in amount with the variety and 

 stage of development. 

 Filled to When the seeds in a snap pod fill it from the pla- 



the edge cental to the carpellary suture. 



Filled to When the snap pod is filled with seeds from the 



the tip neck to the end. 



Green-shell The period in the development of a pod when the 



stage latter is too tough to be edible yet the enclosed 



seeds are tender and entirely free from hardening. 



Growth The type of plant produced, either dwarf or bush, 



habit or tall or viny, and more fully described by such 



specific terms as to express the character of growth. 



Hilar surface. . The area on which is located the hilum or eye; the 



ventral surface. 



Height This is ordinarily meant to represent the distance 



from the crown to the top of the plant. 

 Inch mark. ... A distinct cross mark appearing on pods of certain 

 varieties, the distance between which is quite 

 uniform — approximately one inch apart. 



Intemode The area between nodes or joints. 



Loment-like. . . When the constrictions of the pod are decidedly 

 deep and well defined. 



Mottled Marked with spots of different colors, or shades of 



colors. 



Neck The proximal portion of the pod, excluding the 



peduncle. 



Nodes The enlargement of the stem from which originate 



the leaves, flower stalks and branches; the joint. 



Oblate With reference to the cross-section of a pod when 



the main axis is shorter than the horizontal dia- 

 meter. 



Obovate With reference to the cross-section of a pod when 



the smaller end is at the placental suture. 



Obtuse Broadly angled; when the angle of the dorsal edge 



or surface of a pod is more than 90 degrees. 



Open When the growth habit of a dwarf plant is loose; 



the intermediate stage between spreading and 

 compact. 



Oval This applies when the cross-section of a seed or pod 



is broadly elliptical. 



Ovate This applies to the cross-section of a pod or seed 



when it is more or less egg-shaped, wider at one end 

 than the other. 

 Placental The line of splitting on the ventral surface of the 



suture pod along the inner side of which the seeds are 



attached; the portion in which the greater part of 

 the placental vascular tissue is located. 

 Pods borne ... . The relative position on the plant where the 

 majority of the pods are attached. 



