Cowey

Bush lima. Plants 15-30" tall. Seeds are a dark maroon color and medium in size. Dry beans have a musty, earthy, and mild grassy-green flavor. Pods are slightly curved, average 3" long, and contain 2-3 seeds each. Average productivity. Early maturing. This variety was introduced by the University of New Hampshire in the 1940s. UNH selected it from seed stock which they acquired from S.D. Cowey of York, ME. For a time, it was commercially available from the Billy Hepler Seed Company, founded in 1947 by R. William Helper, the teenage son of UNH plant breeder, Jesse Hepler. This variety was donated to SSE by Tom Beckett (OH BE T) who obtained the variety in 1985 from Karen Marsh (OH MA K). Marsh received it from Dorotha Shortridge (IN SH D/FL SH D) who got it from the former Billy Hepler Seed Co. SSE Accession # 112725