Stevenson's Black

Dry bean. Very dark purple-black, oval, shiny seeds. Shelling beans are a beautiful bluish-purple color. Strongly climbing pole bean. Slightly curved, wide, flat, green pods develop purple striping as they expand and mature. Pods are easy to shell. Pods measure 4-5" long. 5-6 seeds per pod. Purple flowers. Vines are pigmented at the leaf nodes. Intermediate productivity when grown in 2015 at Heritage Farm. Late maturing. Donated to SSE in 1981 by bean collector John Withee of Lynnfield, Massachusetts and the Wanigan Associates. Mr. Withee received the variety in 1978 from Ralph Stevenson (MI ST R). Mr. Stevenson got the bean from a man at a fruit stand in Battle Creek (presumably Michigan) who received it from a friend who had brought it from Italy. SSE Accession # 101375