Brown Kidney

Bush grows without runners. Round green pods resemble snap pods. First dry pod in about 80 days. Variety was part of John Withee's Wanigan collection. I had once acquired it from Wanigan in 1978 and the bean became the seed mother of Pawnee in 1979.

Brown Trout

Bush/dry. Blossom light pink. Early 80 days to first dry pods. Seedcoat color pattern similar to Jacob's Cattle except in brown and white instead of maroon and white. Amount of white area on seed can vary from season to season depending on weather conditions. Soil type will also affect the seedcoat color expression. As planted in 2012. The resulting seedcrop was about 99.5% brown.

Buckskin Girl

Bush/Snap. An endangered variety also having been sold commercially by two seed companies. 48 days for good stringless green podded snaps as grown in northern Illinois. Did the steam cook test on them in July 26, 2020. 90 days to first dry pods. White blossoms on a sprawling 16 inch plant. 6 inch green pods with a delicate sweet flavor.

Buffy

Bush/Snap. Green poded. Discovered in my bean garden and named by me in 1979. I believe this one is also a product of the Contender x Cherokee Wax cross. This bean seemed to revert back closer to Contender in seed color. It's gentic makeup is probably not the same as Contender. Very productive. Grew some of these in the summer of 2014, and found them to be of good bean flavor, tender and stringless. Also sold by the Secret Seed Cartel in France.

Buxton Buckshot

Half Runner/Dry. 110+ days to dry pods. An old heirloom variety from Buxton, Maine. Climbs to about 4 feet. Pods are round green with purple streaks. In the dry stage pods have very rounded lumps where the seed has formed. Seeds are very round and a little smaller than a navy bean. A fun one to grow and experience.

California

Semi-Runner/Dry. Obtained this tan bean in 1979 mixed into a packet of Zebra which I had gotten from Wanigan Associates. John Withee told me his Zebra bean was sent by a grower in California. So I seperated these solid tan beans, and grew them seperately. Since the bean had grown true for several years I gave it the name California.

Canadian Dot Eye

Bush/Dry. First dry pods begin in about 83 days. Compact plants 12 to 14 inches tall. One of the many yellow eye type varieties.

Canadian Wild Goose

Semi Runner/Dry. First dry pods begin in about 90 days. Pod walls become very thin upon drying. Easy to shell. Low growing viney plant that throws off short twiners. Plants produce many small short green pods with purple stripping.

Candy

Semi runner/Dry. 106 DTM. Large seeds. Found in my garden in 1982, and named by me. Never listed it in the SSE yearbook until 2013. Sent seed to Ralph Stevenson (MI ST R) of Michigan in 1984 from which it spread through SSE. Older versions of SSE yearbook history read under MI ST R (from Russell Crow of Ill.), and Anne Fuller of Indiana IN FU A (a find from IL CR R). Sold by two Canadian seed companies. Kept in the Seed Savers Exchange collection numbered SSE Bean 2764, and the USDA under number PI642162. a bean called Big Light Red Trout is the seed mother of Candy.

Cannellino Nero

Bush/Dry. Italian variety grows without runners. Blossom pink. Productive plants are about 20 inches tall. Matures first dry 5 inch pods in about 100 days, and matures nearly all it's dry pods by around 120 days. From the collection of well known Italian bean grower Domenico Belisario.

Cannellino Rosso

Bush/Dry. The red counterpart of Cannellino Nero. Similar in growth and season. Also from the collection of well known Italian bean grower Domenico Belisario.

Cascade Giant

Pole/Snap. Green stringless pods streaked with purple. Pickable pods in about 70 days. The bean was bred at the Oregon State University as an improvement over Oregon Giant. Released by OSU in 1992.

Cassie's Purple Pod

Pole/Snap. The beauty of this bean is in it's growing. A medium stong climber. Tender and stringless purple pods with rich flavor can be picked from it's vines up to 8 inches (20 cm) in length. After cooking the pods turn a dark green color. This variety has been grown and traded among Seed Savers Exchange members in the U.S. as far back as the early 1980's.

Cedar Lake

Bush/Dry. 80 days. Productive and early. Medium sized seed. One of the many original named bean varieties introduced by the late Robert Lobitz through the Seeds Savers Exchange yearbook.

Champagne

Pole/Snap. Snaps in about 70 days. Vigorous climber and productive. 8 inch flat green stingless pods. Given to J.R. Hepler by Ernie Champagne in New Hampshire in the 1940's. J.R. Hepler father of Billy Hepler who started the Hepler Seed Company at the age of 12 first sold this variety in his catalog in 1952.

Charlie Tinker's Grey Ball

Productive bush dry bean variety originating in the U.S.A. Another variety from the bean collection of Joseph Simcox (The Botanical Explorer).

Cherokee Trail Of Tears

Pole/Dry. Also known as Cherokee Black. Said to be good for use as a snap bean or dry. Cherokee ancestors carried this bean over the infamous Trail Of Tears. It was a winter death march of the Cherokee peoples from the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma leaving about 4,000 dead along the way.

Cherokee Wax

Bush/Snap. 45 to 55 days to snap stage. 90 days to first dry seed. 5 to 7 inch yellow pods. Very productive, stringless. 18 inch tall plants produces well in adverse weather. A mutation from Asgrow Valentine. Bred at the Clemson College Truck Experiment Station in Charleston, South Carolina. The original vendor was Asgrow seed in 1947.

Cherry Trout

Bush/Dry. 82 days to first dry pods. An original named bean found in my bean garden in 1983. The seedcoat is patterned similarly to Jacob's Cattle, but displays a smaller area of red around the eye, and fewer and smaller red spots over the white background. Seed is shorter and slightly plumper.

Chickasaw

Semi-Runner/Dry. Pods up to 4.75 inches, and dry seqentially starting in 90 days. A stable outcross discovered and named by me in 1979. The original named bean I found among a grow out of the round, yellow seeded bush bean "Sulphur" obtained from John Withee's Wanigan Associates in 1978. After a second grow out the bean also segregated into another orignal bean I named Choctaw. Listed in the SSE winter yearbook in 1982.

China Yellow

Bush/Dry. A.K.A. Sulphur bean. Carried by John Withee in his Wanigan catalog in the late 1970's as Sulphur Bean. This New England heirloom dates back to before 1870. Seeds are larger than a Navy bean with a distinctive flavor. Once popular in many different countries. Their are many strains of this bean.

Choctaw

Semi-Runner/Dry. Related to it's genetic relative Chickasaw. An Original named bean of mine discovered in 1979 in my Capron, Illinois bean garden and named Choctaw by me. After the 1979 growing season the distinct look of both Choctaw and Chickasaw had appeared. Reacquired this bean in 2013 from John Staples a past SSE member who was still keeping this bean. He sent me a freezer sample that had been frozen since 2006. I had listed Choctaw for the first time in the 1982 SSE winter yearbook.

Christmas

Pole/Large Seeded Lima. Somewhat late in producing dry seed here. I can get decent seed production in my zone 5 climate. Productive, and large seeded. This variety dates back to the 1840's. Was especially popular in the southwest. Very tolerant of a lot of heat.

Clarendon Wonder

Bush Snap bean grows without runners. Australian Variety.

Coach Dog

Bush dry bean grows without runners. Blossom pink. Plants grow to about 18 inches tall. Productive plants matures it's first dry pods in about 80 days. Seeds similar in appearance to Jacob's Cattle however it holds it's Jacob's Cattle look in a hot summer. Jacob's Cattle beans turn nearly solid red during a hot season. Coach Dog was once a part of John Withee's Wanigan bean collection of Lynnfield, MA.

Coco Rubico

Bush/Dry. First dry pods in as early as 72 days. Very productive. I grew this bean for a time in the 1980's, and originally purchased it from Le Jardin Du Gourmet who I believe imported seed from Vilmorin seedhouse in France.

Comtesse de Chambord

Bush/Snap. Early, productive, slender green podded snaps. Dates back to early 19th century France. Acquired this version of this bean in 2012 from Two Wings Farm, B.C. Canada. Comtesse de Chambord is the seed mother of my first discovered orignal named bean known as Blue Jay. Although I don't believe this strain of CDC is Blue Jay's seed mother

Comtesse de Chambord (BN 226)

Bush/Snap. I reacquired the bean (photo on the left) from Two Wings farm in 2012, but the seed seemed smaller than I recalled in the '80's I had donated seed (picture above) to Seed Savers Exchange that was the seed mother of Blue Jay. Then during winter 2013 I requested from my donations this same version of this bean. When the seed arrived. Low, and behold a bit larger white seed the way I had remembered Blue Jay's seed mother.

Connecticut Wonder

Pole/Snap. About 75 days to first snap beans. Meaty green flattened pods that can be varieable to a light lemon yellow. A discovery of a Reverend Frank Abbott in his Bolton, Connecticut garden before 1919.

Conserva

Bush snap variety. Compact bush grows without runners. Blossom white, with light green foliage. Produces oval green pods that are fleshy but not stringy and slightly bent. Spelled by German growers as Konserva. Marketed in 1925 by Samenzüchterei David Sachs or Seed Nursery of David Sachs Quedlinburg, Germany. Bred by David Sachs's company. A cross between European varieties Alpha x Saxa. David Sachs 1836-1918

Contender

Bush/Snap. Also known as Buff Valentine. Early and very productive of oval podded green snaps in about 50 days. Dry seed in about 80+ days. Healthy and very disease resistant plants. Developed at the USDA vegetable breeding lab in Charleston, South Carolina by the late Dr. Wade. Introduced to the public in 1949. Still frequently found in seed catalogs and on seed racks today.

Corn Planter's Purple

Pole. Seneca variety. Highly productive. Beautiful pods turn dark purple as seed matures and pods begin to dry.

Cream Six Weeks

Bush/Dry First Dry pods in about 85 days. Blossom lavender. Viney plants about 14 inches tall. Seed about the size of a navy. Short plump and cream/tan in color. Produces a profusion of 4 inch pods that wrinkle tight around it’s seed when dry, and has a blushed purplish color when plump with soft immature seed.

Cresnjevec

Pole/Dry A Slovenian variety sent by a gardener in Germany during the winter of 2013. This name is also the name a village in the municipality of Slovenska Bistrica in northeastern Slovenia. It is probably the place of origin for this variety. Cresnjevec is also very productive.

Crow River Black

Bush/Dry A variety selected by Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Mn from a packet of bean crosses received from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in Canada during 1993.

Cyrus Grays

Bush Dry. 85 Days to first dry pods. A Robert Lobitz original bean that he named and introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange year book in 2004. Named after Cyrus, Minnesota located in Pope county. A beautiful dry bean, speckled & grey like a river pebble. A very hardy bush bean, and is not as vulnerable to fungal issues as some bush beans.

Dalmatian

Bush/Dry 90+ days for dry seed. Seeds are patterned the same as Money except the colors on this one are brighter. Productive upright plants grow without runners. Discovered in my garden and named by me in 1981. Decided to use the "ian" spelling at the end of it's name as Dalmation is a synonym name for Jacob's Cattle. The seed mother of Dalmatian was a bean called Ernie's Big Eye.

Dana's Soldier

Bush dry bean. 85 days to the start of dry pods. An original bean from the collection of early Seed Savers Exchange, and Wanigan Associates member the late Ernest B. Dana of Etna, New Hampshire. Discovered and stabilized by Mr. Dana from his bean gardens back in the 1970's. This bean is another example, and variation of the Trout or Jacob's Cattle type seed coat patterns that Ernie dearly loved.

Dapple Grey

Bush/Dry 60 to 70 days for dry seed. An early maturing variety on 12 to 18 inch plants. Possibly the variety takes it's name for it's color resemblence to the Dapple Grey horse. There is no known history of this bean.

Deb's Creek

Pole/Dry. An Australian variety gifted to me by my Austrian bean friend Harriet Mella. Moderate climber.

Deep Red Trout

Bush dry bean grows without runners. Larger trout type seeds distinguish this variety over Jacob's Cattle. Productive plants produce six inch long and half inch wide pods. Pods dry a little later than early bush dry beans varieties. Given to John Withee's Wanigan Associates by former SSE member the late Ernest B. Dana of Etna, New Hampshire. SSE Bean 459

Del Angelo

Pole/Dry. Eight foot vines produce 5 inch pods which contain nice sized seed. Not huge seeds but not small ether. Productive bean may have been grown around Genoa, Italy.

Delano

Bush dry bean grows without runners. Blossom Lavender. About 90 days to the beginning of first dry pods. Purple pods 5.25 inches long. Seeds smaller than a Navy bean. Off white with some slightly blushed with purple. An original named bean from the late Robert Lobitz that he introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook for the first time in 2005.

Deseronto Potato

Semi Runner Dry. An Abenaki nation variety given to me by a Seneca man who lives in Pennsylvania. The Bean has been grown by the Iroquois, and Seneca people of North America. Moderately climbing plants can be raised as a pole bean or on the ground as a half runner climbing bean to about 4 to 5 feet. Can be used as a thickener in soup or mashed like potatoes.

Dlouha Pulena Ze Smolijanu

Pole Dry. Start of first dry pods in about 100+ days. A European heirloom bean from the Czech Republic. Early maturing, a tri coloured bean seed in white, oatmeal and chocolate. If there is such a thing as an elegant, dignified bean this is it.

Dog Bean

Bush Dry. Dry seed in about 90 or so days. May or may not be another strain of Jacob's Cattle although it has a similar seedcoat pattern and coloring. Areas of white and red display in a little bit different amounts on the seeds of this bean.

Dwarf Sheild

Semi Runner Dry. Said to be 90 days to first dry pods but was 82 days when grown here. This variety dried down it's entire set of pods in 23 days. The bean will develop yellow pods during it's growing season although it is not a wax variety. An original bean named and introduced by Robert Lobitz through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 1999. Named as the color pattern resembles that of the American indian variety the Hidatsa Shield Bean.

Eagle Bend

Bush/Dry. About 85 days to first dry pods. Then the remaimder of the pods will dry sequentially in about 3 weeks. The bean was named by myself. It is a development from a small collection of beans that Minnesota bean man Robert Lobitz left behind and never worked with because of his passing in 2006.

Eagle Island White

Bush/Dry. About 85 days to first dry pods. Then the remaimder of the pods will dry sequentially in about 3 weeks. 17 inch tall plants with white blossoms. 4 inch pods contaning medium size oval beans. This is a Robert Lobitz original named bean.

Early Vermillion

Bush Dry. It's earliness truely amazed me when grown here. 71 days to beginning of it's first dry pods. Then dried down it's entire pod set in just 18 days. An original bean named and introduced through Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 2004 by the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Early Victor

Semi Runner/Dry. 76 days to beginning of first dry pods. Small pinto colored beans. One of the many beans named and introduced through Seed Savers Exchange by the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Early Warwick

Bush/Dry. 75 days to beginning of dry seed. Stocky plants and heavy yields. Cool weather tolerant. Grown in Warwick, England before 1890. Acquired this one from a gardening friend in Derby, England.

Early Yellow Six Weeks

Bush/Snap. Green snap pods in about 50 days 90 to dry pods. A very old variety that goes back into the 1700's. Mentioned in publications in the 1860's and said at that time to be a variety that had been around at least for a century.

Eden Lake Pearls

Bush/Snap. 80 to 90 days for the beginning of dry seed. Another of the many bean originals by the Late Robert Lobitz. Rounded white beans larger than a Navy bean.

Eden Prairie

Bush/Snap. 80 to 90 days for the beginning of dry seed. Another of the many bean originals by the Late Robert Lobitz. Marked nearly like a soldier around the eye with the addition of very fine red specks over a white background.

Eden Valley

Bush Dry. Productive 19 inch tall plants produce 4 inch smooth round easy to hand shell pods. Blossom pink. 70 days to first dry pods. Then remaining pods dry sequentially over a period of about three weeks. This is one of the many Robert Lobitz legacy beans that I have worked with since 2015. The bean was a segregation out of a packet of round black, white, and brown beans that I had received from Ron Thuma of Hartford, Kansas in 2015. Named by Russ Crow in 2020.