I am desperately (yes, desperately) trying to find some pure seed beans for runner cannellini. I accidentally ordered the eating runner cannellini beans from SSE, thinking they were seed stock. I wasn't particularly worried. I figured I'd eat those (yum) and just order seed stock from the yearbook. Much to my disapointment, the only runner cannellini beans were listed as Limited Quantity, which means, as a first year member, that I can't order them.

So, I emailed SSE to see if maybe the eating beans were grown in isolation and if could just plant them. I received a nice note back about how, no, they are not a hybrid so they could be planted.

O.K.

So, I tried again. After two more emails of "they aren't grown here, we don't know", I asked if maybe they could contact the grower. Yes, maybe I was asking them to go above and beyond the call of duty, but if I'm planning on offering these beans next year, I'd like to know if they're the real thing.

I get back an email about how if I would look on page 80, plenty of cannellini beans are offered and that two cannellini beans are offered under runnerbeans. I was under the impression that neither of these were Runner Cannellini beans. I'm really hoping that I'm the one that's confused, because if SSE is the one that's confused, that's pretty sad.

Sorry for the rant. Should I just plant the eating beans and hope for the best?

Thanks,
Bellatrix

I think we are all confused.

All of the "runner cannellini" beans that I have thus far seen or read about, turned out to be P. coccineus, regardless of how they were identified. For some reason, the white runner beans from Europe are frequently misidentified; sometimes as limas, sometimes as P. vulgaris. I have also been sent white "runner beans" that upon examination & planting, turned out to be limas. Confusing indeed.

It may be a question of language; perhaps cannellini is a term used to describe many types of beans that are similar in appearance (white), or usage. Hopefully someone from "across the pond" could shed some light on this.

I have also been searching for the elusive "pole cannellini", so far unsuccessfully. "Gigande" seems to refer to both a runner bean & a lima; logical I suppose, given that both are large seeded. I grew the lima last year, obtained under one of its synonyms "Hija" (it did not mature for me). And I grew one of the white runner beans in 2005 - it is completely different, in terms of taste & texture, from the bush cannellini.

The search goes on... I will be watching this thread.

However, I have found white-seeded pole beans that were similar to cannellini. One that I grew last year, an heirloom called "Brita's Foot Long", had large white seeds of very fine quality... perhaps that is as close as I will come to the real thing.

At this point, I am beginning to doubt that there is a true "pole cannellini". I think that it falls in that area of ambiguity occupied by white-seeded runner beans. Every time I track down a pole bean with large white seeds, it turns out to be a runner bean. Like "Pole Cannellini", "Greek Giant Lima" appears to be a white-seeded runner bean.

And still, I continue to get "runner beans" that turn out to be other species. My own research agrees with Flora; "Gigante" (or Gigande, or Hija) is a very large pole lima. And two years back, I received a "runner bean" which proved to be epigeal (the cotyledons emerged). Since runner beans are hypogeal like English peas, I destroyed the plants then... but I am growing it this year in isolation. Having observed the flowers & thin yellow(!) pods (and how it set them in hot weather) I would classify it as P. vulgaris.

Part of the problem, I think, is the bean lexicon (I hear echoes of Gardenlad whenever I say that). Runner beans are a species... but runner bean is also the general term for any bean with pole habit. IMO, this leads to too much confusion.

On the other hand, the EU regulation states that it is P. coccineus that originated in Mexico.

All of them grew with the cotyledons below ground. I kind of forgot about them before reading this thread, so I'll have to check for flowers and pods.

Gary

If I do indeed have the lima version, any idea if it will be a bush or a pole lima?

Will be on the lookout for a large podded white bean of the P vulgaris species, since P. vulgaris do the best here and produce the longest. Any luck with that anyone?

I've seen a very large lima sold in some ethnic food stores, I believe under the brand name Goya. It would be interesting to find out how similar they are to "Gigandes". If I can find them way out here, that would make them "widely available". ;-)

I trialed another good white-seeded pole bean last year, "Tetovac", a Serbian bean sent to me in trade. They are sold in bulk there commercially. Rather unusual, flat white seeds the size & shape of "Sieva" limas... but it is P. vulgaris. Very vigorous vines, and a decent yield. Haven't tried them in soup yet, so don't know how well they hold up; but they were easy to shell, and very good as shellies.

This year I will be growing a very large-seeded white bush bean (an heirloom, "Clem & Sarah's Big Bean", from Drloyd), but the search for a true "pole Cannellini" continues. Either of the two varieties I've mentioned might be acceptable substitutes.

How long is long? If I plant them this weekend do you think they will produce by November? We do have a long season, but not a long "hot" season.

"Cannellini" is a specific bush common bean also known as "white kidney bean" that I grow as a shelly.

"Cannellini" is also unfortunately is used to describe most any large white seeded bean except possibly Lima beans. Therefore the concept of a "pole cannellini" will forever remain elusive or even meaningless. I know that is a dismal view, but it seems to be the way it is. ;-)

"Brita's Foot Long" is a very fine pole shelly or dry bean that could be renamed "pole cannellini" so we could have a pole cannellini. ;D

"Monteges del Gaxnet" is favorite in Spain. It has more of a curve that kidney types. I am trialing it this year, a year even more difficult here than 2008 was. Our spring has been incredibly wet and colder than parts of Siberia and Alaska. So it is not really getting a fair trial.

More confusion:

"Bond's Orcas Lima" is a very early pole runner with large seeds and good eating quality. It easily produced mature seed here in the PNW even in a very difficult year like 2008.

"Bianco di Spagna" or "Italian Butter Bean" is sold by seed companies as a common bean but it is a runner with huge shellies up to 1-3/4 inches long. It is fairly late but does produce mature seed here in the PNW.

"Cannellini Gigante" is a pole runner with very large seeds that will produce dry seed here. Good shellies.

"Delucci Cannellini" is a pole runner that will produce dry seed here. Very large and good quality shellies.

"Gigantes" is a very large seeded pole runner bean that is only grown in a specific region in Greece. The name is protected by EU law so if you grow these in other parts of the EU, you have to call them something else.

"Gigandes" is a large seeded Lima that is sold by that name by Purcell Mountain Farms. It makes an outstanding bean soup with little added to it besides onion and salt. I have about 2 gallons of it on cooking this morning. I would love to be able to grow that one.- Dick

I second the motion. It's probably as close as we are likely to get to the bush variety. The fact that it is tasty & highly productive doesn't hurt either. Tip o' the hat to Salt Spring Seeds in Canada for introducing it, too bad they no longer ship to the States.

Annette

One other bean has surfaced as a good "pole Cannellini" substitute - "Tarbais". Like "Gigandes", it is a geographically-protected name in the E.U. This is another good white-seeded P. vulgaris pole bean. There is a GW thread on it, link below.

Include the parenthesis

DarJones