Hi Cindy,

I purchased some of those seed and they will be ready to eat in a few weeks. They are the pole variety. In the south a lot of folks call everything butter bean. About all we called lima, was the fordhook, when I grew up as a kid.

Luther

You are probably looking for Alabama #1 Pole Bean.

"Alabama 1 - Breeder: Alabama Polytechnic Inst., Auburn. Vendor: Asgrow. Parentage: locally adapted farm garden stocks. Characteristics: pole bean with slender, smooth, deep root system; large yielder, almost round pods, between 7-8" in length. Resistance: hot weather, root knot; partially resistant to rust. Similar: Ideal Market. Adaptation: southern United States. Southern Seedsman 1&endash;38, 2&endash;44. 1938."

Sandhill Preservation will have fresh seed after I finish harvesting in about 2 months.

DarJones

Thank you Luther! My "Yankee" is showing - I never even heard of butterbeans before moving to GA (from Mass.) I love them, but think of them as a variety of lima... Better scratch that notion. I would love to hear what you think of the Alabama Black Butterbean.

Dar - thank you! I think you are right that this is what I am looking for! I will definitely order some of those for next year - I would love to surprise Tommy with those beans. Good chance I'll like them too. Am having a banner year with most beans!

thank you both!
Cindy

Cindy; Butterbean is a colloquial/regional name. To an old southerner, it means a baby lima. To folks in the midwest along the Mississippi valley, the giant limas like King of the Garden, Calico, Big Six etc are butterbeans. All of them including Fordhooks, Baby Fordhooks, and Dixie Butterpeas are P lunatus.
Dar and Zeedman are the experts. I was aware of Alabama #1, but thought it was extinct. They have been very good at reintroducing varieties that have fallen into disuse.

Thank you FarmerDill - isn't language fascinating? And thanks for the description of butterpeas - I was going to ask about those - wasn't sure where to find them.

I love the idea of keeping old varieties alive - hopefully I can try Alabama #1 next year. I think I am going to run out of space...

Thanks again!
Cindy

Dixie Butterpeas are different, closest to them is the Baby Fordhook. They are not flat like most limas, but almost as thick as they are long. Most local seed and feeds in Georgia will carry either the white or speckled butterpeas.
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Farmerdill, There is quite a story about the Alabama #1 beans. I got seed from a woman in NorthEast Alabama who happened to share a garden with my sister. Long story short, she got them from a former professor at Auburn and had been maintaining the stock for the last 30+ years.

DarJones

Interesting Dar. I have been sporadically looking for Dade a number of years. No luck yet.
"Dade (SES no.1) - Breeder: Sub-Tropical Expt. Sta., Homestead, Florida. Parentage: Florigreen x McCaslan. Characteristics: pole bean, vigorous, high yield, long straight pods. Resistance: rust, common and southern bean mosaic, intumescence. Similar: McCaslan. Adaptation: southern United States. Florida Expt. Sta. Circ. S-142. 1962."

Bill Best has Dade. http://www.heirlooms.org/

DarJones

How are these Alabama Black Beans different from the Jungle Black butter beans ?

jo1j, I think they are talking about the Alabama black green bean/snapbean. But here is a picture of a Alabama black butter bean and a picture of Black jungle butter beans shelled.

Alabama black butter bean

Black jungle butter bean

I grew both and they taste great. I will grow them again next year.

Luther