Bean

Vigna unguiculata

Spotted Cowpea

The cowpea is an annual legume plant with high tolerance to arid and degraded soils. Owning to this ability, it thrived in the semi-arid northeastern hinterlands of Brazil. The genus Vigna is vastly diverse in color and shape, characteristics that often name the variety of the cultivar. Therefore, its title varies from region to region. Originally from Africa, this plant was brought to Brazil at the beginning of the colonial era, in the 16th century. During this period, between 1549 and 1763, Salvador was the capital of Brazil, and experienced the slave trade grievously. From that city, black-eyed peas, or cowpeas, spread throughout Brazil, and became a central ingredient in acarajé and abará, dishes which are ritualistically prepared by practitioners of African diasporic religions.

Canavalia gladiata

Sword Bean

This bean is of Asian origin and has curious characteristics. It is a cultigen, meaning, it came into existence through human cultivation and its wild ancestor is not known. If it is not the largest bean in the world, it is certainly in the category of one of the largest, reaching more than 3 centimeters. After multiple boils, these beans can be safely consumed, thus neutralizing toxic substances present in them when unprocessed. Its neutral taste and high amounts of starch resemble the flavor of potatoes. In Korea, Canavalia gladiata is used medicinally, and its extract can be seen as an ingredient in soap, aimed at skin health.

Phaseolus vulgaris [Mouro]

Mouro Beans

This creole bean variety was acquired from a seed collector and exchanged with a genetics guardian in the city of Baependi, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Beans, like corn, can have hundreds of genetic varieties thanks to the process of cross-pollination. Cross-pollination is advantageous because this genetic variety provides the species' adaptability, and thus, its survival. For Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), this natural crossing is seen as ‘contamination’, and is actively prevented.

Dolichos lablab [Lablab purpureus]

Hyacinth bean

These beans are of Indian origin, and were taken to Brazil by enslaved populations during the colonial period. It is considered an unconventional edible plant, also known as PANC (the Brazilian acronym standing for ‘Plantas alimentícias não convencionais’). This species adapted well to the climate of northeastern Brazil, because it is more resistant to drought than the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Therefore, it was quickly absorbed into the culinary culture of the region. In Kenya, this bean is known as njahe or njahi, and is often described by researchers as ‘underutilized’. Its robust nutritional profile, and ability to improve the quality of the soil, minimize weeds, and rehydrate all beg the question of why this crop isn’t as much of a dietary and agricultural convention around the world as it is in Kenya. The answer to this question might lie in the economics of British colonialism, which forced colonies to produce food with European consumption preferences in mind, over their own. Today, it is said that The Njahi is the most expensive bean variety in Kenya.

Phaseolus lunatus [Lobisomem]

Werewolf ear Lima bean

The Phaseolus lunatus is historically found in Meso- and South America. Two gene pools of cultivated lima beans point to independent domestication events. The Mesoamerican lima bean is distributed in neotropical lowlands, while the other is found in the western Andes. In Brazil, there are nearly 200 types of Phaseolus lunatus, indicating a highly diverse collection, one of which is the Werewolf ear Lima bean ('Orelha de lobisomem'). Its name comes from the folkloric creature whose fur is black and white. The werewolf legend has its origins in Greece and was brought to Brazil with the Portuguese. The symbolism of the dichotomy between good and evil, shadow and light, present in the folklore, is printed on this seed.

Phaseolus lunatus [Lima]

Lima Bean

The Phaseolus lunatus is historically found in Meso- and South America. Two gene pools of cultivated lima beans point to independent domestication events. The Mesoamerican lima bean is distributed in neotropical lowlands, while the other is found in the western Andes. Its name comes from the labels on the boxes – "Lima, Peru” – when they were exported to Europe during colonization. Indeed, the Incas were pioneers in plant domestication and agriculture. But the Lima bean was influential in pre-Inca Moche culture, where it is believed that these beans are “sacred elements that carry messages to be deciphered” by spiritual leaders. This seed was acquired from a seed keeper called Thiago and donated to the food sovereignty project "Horta na favela" (‘Vegetable garden in the favela’) in the community of Rocinha, in Rio de Janeiro. Resembling a goat's eye, this is a variety of edible broad bean.

Vicia faba

Red Broad bean

Vicia faba, known as fava or broad bean, is a leguminous plant, and as such, it adapts well to infertile soils. It is not the case with this species that the larger the seed, the more yield in production. It is the smaller seeds that produce the most pods. Its domestication is so ancient that researching its origins may be crucial to understanding the point at which humanity shifted from the process of collecting food to producing food. Studies identify its origin in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mucuna pruriens

Velvet bean

The velvet bean is a climbing legume. As a leguminous plant, this bean develops a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in its roots, which leads to the conversion of Nitrogen that’s in the air into a resource for plants in the soil. This process, named nitrogen fixation, represents vital transformation. Therefore, it can be used to recover degraded soils, and is useful in agroecological initiatives. This plant’s leaves and its extract have long been used in traditional West African communities as an antidote for snakebites. While in India, Ayurveda tradition attributes Mucuna pruriens to the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Canavalia ensiformis

Jack Bean

The jack bean is a type of broad bean, from the Fabaceae family, native to Central and South America. When planted, it has the ability to nourish the soil, improving the ground's conditions for other species to develop. In addition to being incredibly resistant to degraded soils and agile in growth, it can be consumed by humans. However, its preparation period is much longer than that of a common bean, as toxins present in it can cause effects similar to alcohol or cannabis, having “anti-nutritional” characteristics. Therefore, the most common use of this broad bean is as a green fertilizer, which indirectly nourishes us through the earth.

Vigna unguiculata [Caupi]

Green Thai Cowpea

The cowpea is an annual legume with high tolerance to arid and degraded soils. Owning to this ability, it thrived in the semi-arid northeastern backlands of Brazil. The genus Vigna is vastly diverse in color and shape, characteristics that often name the variety of the cultivar. Therefore, its title varies from region to region. Originally from Africa, this plant was brought to Brazil during the colonial era, in the 16th century. Aside from its wide range of health benefits, this bean is the preeminent ingredient in acarajé, a dish widely consumed in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. This dish is ritualistically prepared as an offering for the deity called Iansã deity, an Orixá of the African diasporic religion Candomblé.

Phaseolus lunatus

Tiger Eye Beans

There are hundreds of varieties of beans, but a minuscule fraction of them are a part of everyday life for urban populations. This Tiger Eye bean is a rare variety, exchanged during an agro-ecological experience in the backlands of Taquari, in Paraty, Brazil. Its atypical coloring in shades of red and black resemble a feline's eye. A creole seed such as this one is native, free from commercial genetic manipulations, and unknown to modern agro-industrial technologies.