Phaseolus acutifolius

Phaseolus acutifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Phaseoleae
Genus:	Phaseolus
Species:	P. acutifolius
Binomial name
Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray

Phaseolus acutifolius, the Tepary bean, is native to the southwestern United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times. It is more drought-resistant than the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and is grown in desert and semi-desert conditions from Arizona through Mexico to Costa Rica. The water requirements are low and the crop will grow in areas where annual rainfall is less than 400 mm (16 inches). It has recently been introduced to African agriculture.

Wild tepary beans are viny and climb desert shrubs but the cultivated types grow more like bush beans.

Other names for this native bean include Pawi, Pavi, Tepari, Escomite, Yori mui and Yori muni. The name tepary may derive from the Tohono O'odham phrase t'pawi or "It's a bean".

Tepary beans are cooked like other dry beans after soaking. Some Native Americans toasted the dry beans, then ground them into a meal which was mixed with water before eating.

Recent studies from the United States and Mexico suggest that lectin toxins and other compounds from tepary beans may be useful as chemotherapy for treating cancer. However, further research is needed.

It is an ingredient in the Indian snacks 'bhujia' and Punjabi Tadka by Haldiram.

The tepary bean was a major food staple of Native American tribes in the Southwest United States. It was grown alongside squash and corn, which when eaten together provide sufficient nourishment thanks to the composition of an advanced protein. The act of growing these plants together was known as Three Sisters agriculture.

External links

• The Tepary Bean
• Bean, Tepary — Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray
• Papago (Tohono O'odham) Tepary Bean Soup
• NRCS: USDA Plants Profile Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray , var. acutifolius, var. latifolius Freeman
• Crop Wild Relatives Gap Analysis Portal reliable information source on where and what to conserve ex-situ, regarding Phaseolus genepool
• Reynoso-Camacho R, González de Mejía E, Loarca-Piña G (January 2003). "Purification and acute toxicity of a lectin extracted from tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius)". Food Chem. Toxicol. 41 (1): 21–7. doi:10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00215-6. PMID 12453724. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0278691502002156. 
• García-Gasca T, Salazar-Olivo LA, Mendiola-Olaya E, Blanco-Labra A (June 2002). "The effects of a protease inhibitor fraction from tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) on in vitro cell proliferation and cell adhesion of transformed cells". Toxicol In Vitro 16 (3): 229–33. doi:10.1016/S0887-2333(02)00006-1. PMID 12020595. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0887233302000061. 
• Valadez Vega MDC, Alvarez Manilla Dubón G, García Carrancá A, Abdullaev F (July 12–16, 2004). "Cytotoxicity of tepary bean lectins (Phaseolus acutifolius lectins) on human malignant cells". IFT Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV. 49I-2. http://ift.confex.com/ift/2004/techprogram/paper_22443.htm.