Varieties of Broad Beans

• Broad beans (Vicia faba) are large, flat beans that look like lima beans. Broad beans, also referred to as fava beans and horse beans, are grown as staple food as well as animal fodder. The beans are a native of Africa and are very popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. Broad bean pods are up to 18 inches long depending on variety and come in a number of green, white or brown varieties. Young broad bean pods are cooked like green beans while the dried beans are soaked overnight before cooking.

Windsor Varieties

• Windsor broad bean plants are known for their prolific crops. The pods of green Windsor are shorter and broader than the longpod varieties of broad beans with 4 to 7 beans per pod. Windsor broad beans have superior flavor and a longer maturation time than the longpod varieties. Green Windsor is a green broad bean in the group with abundant crops per plant. Jubilee mysor Windsor variety has white beans and is a late maturing type. Jubilee mysor is among the most popular white broad beans with very good flavor.

Dwarf Varieties

• Dwarf broad bean varieties grow on free branching bushes that reach a mature height of 1 to 1 ½ feet. The bean plants are well suited for smaller areas or where taller plants are not ideal. The Sutton is among the dwarf varieties and are the most popular beans in this group. The beans are white in colors and the variety is most recommended for small gardens. Bonny lad is also a dwarf broad beans with white beans. The variety is very close in taste and growth habits to the Sutton with only a few inches of difference in mature plant height. Bonny lad plants grow to about 12 inches and produce white eyed beans.

Longpod Varieties

• As the name suggests, longpod varieties of broad beans produce long bean pods of 15 inches or more containing 8 to 10 kidney shaped beans per pod. Longpod beans come in green or white varieties and are favored for their high yields, hardiness and early maturation time. Aquadulce Claudia is a white bean variety in the group which is highly popular for autumn planting. Relon plants produce green beans and are known for their exceptionally long, 20 inch pods with 10 bean in each pods. Relon beans hold up very well in freezing. Hylon is among the more modern varieties in the longpod group and produces white beans.