Mountaineer

Pole. Dry bean. Dry beans have mild flavor. Green pods mature to pale yellow with purple dashes and stripes. Mature pods are slightly constricted. Fully extended, immature pods measure 3.3-4.3" long. Main stem shows extensive pigmentation. Strongly climbing plants have white flowers. Small uniform, white, oval seeds. Seven seeds per pod. Moderate productivity and early maturing dry pods when grown in 2017 at Heritage Farm. Donated to SSE in 1981 by bean collector John Withee of Lynnfield, Massachusetts and the Wanigan Associates. In the Bean Improvement Cooperative annual report, “Domestic Exploration for Heirloom Beans” by Desmond Dolan (published in 1974) described a variety by this name. Dolan stated that 'Mountaineer' was a West Virginia heirloom originally named ‘Dunkle’s Half Runner’ because it was collected from a Mrs. Howard Dunkle of Deer Run, West Virginia. After the variety was collected, it was tested at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station for three years. Plants that proved to be mosaic resistant were selected, given a new variety name of ‘Mountaineer,’ and released in 1957. SSE Accession # 101137