Fortner Family Heirloom

Pole bean. Dry and shelling (horticultural) bean. Staff favorite for taste as a shelling bean! Savory and sweet flavor, with a creamy, smooth texture. Dark red-brown, oval shaped seeds. Weakly climbing, half-runner bean. Variability in climbing habit from true bush to weakly climbing. Edible at young snap bean stage too. Pods measure 4-6" long. 5-7 seeds per pod. Straight, green pods turn yellow at maturity and develop red mottling. Pronounced constriction between seeds. Some variation in pod length, shape, and intensity of red color at maturity. White flowers. Non-pigmented plants. Intermediate productivity when grown in 2015 at Heritage Farm. Mid-season maturing. Donated to SSE in 2014 by Paris Fortner of Michigan. Paris has maintained this bean variety since 1955 when he received seeds of it from his grandmother, Cora Bell (Bolingner) Fortner (now deceased). Paris’ earliest memory of his grandmother growing the variety dates to 1940. Paris was told by his grandmother that she received the variety from a “very old widow neighbor of hers.” Cora Bell maintained this variety in her garden in Speedwell, Tennessee. SSE Accession # 132332