These beans are called Tongue Of Fire (Phaseolus vulgaris). I planted a package of seeds in late July. Here are descriptions from some seed catalogs:
Johnny’s:
The best flavored horticultural bean. The fresh, shelled beans are large, round and have superior flavor and texture, whether fresh, frozen, or canned. 6-7″, stringless, red-streaked pods can be eaten and marketed young as snap beans. Original stock seeds collected in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. Avg. 875 seeds/lb. Packet: 95 seeds. Days to Maturity or Bloom: 70 Cold Tolerant Variety does well at lower temperatures and may even be frost hardy.
Victory Seed Company:
Italian heirloom (Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco). A cranberry-type horticultural bean variety originally collected from Tierra del Fuego on the tip of South America. The pods are ivory tan with red streaks and spots as they mature. The seeds are large and roundish. They have an excellent flavor and texture and are good fresh, canned, frozen or dried. About 55 seeds per ounce.
I hoping to try Leslie’s recipe for Kale and Cranberry Bean Soup.
Fabaceae
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Those are pretty pods. I hope the beans inside do taste as good as the pods look.
There is a Dutch bean with a similar name, but I think it’s different.
In Dutch it’s ‘Kievitsboon’, but the common English name is Dragon’s Tongue. The Dutch name comes from a kind of bird called a kievits, who’s eggs resemble the dried bean.
When fresh, it’s a wax bean that looks similar to yours.
http://www.seedsavers.org/prodinfo.asp?number=340
I guess I’ve probably mentioned this bean before, so you probably already knew about it…
It didn’t do well in my garden, so I probably won’t grow it again. Dried, it’s also very similar to some other beans like Boston Favorite that do better for me.
I looked at the Dragon’s Tongue bean pictures. It does look very similar to my Tongue’s of Fire. But they seem to be different.
I’m looking forward to trying more varieties of shell beans next year. This is the first I’ve ever grown. The yield doesn’t look so good so far. Actually, looking at the picture now, it seems like they could use some fertilizer.