The generic name
Phaseolus was introduced by
Linnaeus in 1753, from the
Latin phaseolus, a
diminutive of
phasēlus, in turn borrowed from
Greek phasēlos used for either a species labelled as
Vigna sinensis, or "calavance" which is an old name for the
chickpea; that word itself is of unknown origin. The Ancient Greeks probably referred to any bean in a pod as
phasēlos including those species,
mung bean as well as
black gram which were brought to them from Asia during their time; the name extended to the New World beans with the introduction of
common bean into Europe via
Columbian exchange in the 16th century and later given the name
Phaseolus vulgaris.
Species Species have been organized into eight groups based on phylogenetic clades: Filiformis group •
Phaseolus angustissimus A. Gray •
Phaseolus filiformis—slimjim bean •
Phaseolus carterae Leptostachyus group •
Phaseolus leptostachyus •
Phaseolus macvaughii •
Phaseolus micranthus Lunatus group •
Phaseolus augusti •
Phaseolus bolivianus •
Phaseolus lunatus—lima bean, butter bean •
Phaseolus pachyrrhizoides •
Phaseolus viridis •
Phaseolus mollis Pauciflorus group •
Phaseolus pauciflorus •
Phaseolus parvulus •
Phaseolus perplexus •
Phaseolus pluriflorus •
Phaseolus tenellus Pedicellatus group •
Phaseolus altimontanus •
Phaseolus dasycarpus •
Phaseolus esperanzae •
Phaseolus grayanus •
Phaseolus laxiflorus •
Phaseolus neglectus •
Phaseolus pedicellatus •
Phaseolus texensis Polystachios group •
Phaseolus albinervus •
Phaseolus jaliscanus •
Phaseolus juquilensis •
Phaseolus maculatus—spotted bean •
Phaseolus marechalii •
Phaseolus polystachios •
Phaseolus reticulatus •
Phaseolus ritensis •
Phaseolus smilacifolius Tuerckheimii group •
Phaseolus chiapasanus •
Phaseolus gladiolatus •
Phaseolus hintonii •
Phaseolus oligospermus •
Phaseolus tuerckheimii •
Phaseolus xanthrotrichus •
Phaseolus zimapanensis Vulgaris group •
Phaseolus acutifolius—tepary bean •
Phaseolus albescens •
Phaseolus coccineus—runner bean •
Phaseolus costaricensis •
Phaseolus dumosus—year bean •
Phaseolus parvifolius •
Phaseolus persistentus •
Phaseolus vulgaris—common bean, French bean, black bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, green bean Uncategorized •
Phaseolus amblyosepalus •
Phaseolus anisotrichos •
Phaseolus brevicalyx •
Phaseolus chacoensis •
Phaseolus cibellii •
Phaseolus galactoides •
Phaseolus glabellus •
Phaseolus leucanthus •
Phaseolus macrolepis •
Phaseolus massaiensis •
Phaseolus microcarpus •
Phaseolus nelsonii •
Phaseolus oaxacanus •
Phaseolus plagiocylix •
Phaseolus polymorphus •
Phaseolus sonorensis •
Phaseolus vulcanicus Previous classifications placed a number of other well-known
legume species in this genus, but they were subsequently reassigned to the genus
Vigna, sometimes necessitating a change of species name. For example, older literature refers to the
mung bean as
Phaseolus aureus, whereas more modern sources classify it as
Vigna radiata. Similarly, the snail bean
Vigna caracalla was discovered in 1753 and in 1970 moved from
Phaseolus to
Vigna. The modern understanding of
Phaseolus indicates a genus
endemic only to the New World. ==Allergenicity==