Whitesitt Family Baby Lima

Pole lima. A staff favorite for fresh eating. Jade green limas are sweet with a unique flavor and have thin skin. Dry limas are less flavorful. Slightly curved pods average 2.9" long by 0.8" wide. Relatively small, white seeds. Dry limas have a creamy texture and buttery flavor. 2-3 seeds per pod. Shattering dry pods. Donated to SSE by Russell Bay, likely in the late 1980s. The variety was originally brought to the Bitterroot Valley (Corvallis, MT) in 1887 by Albert Newton "Newt" Whitesitt. Newt was the grandfather of Russell's wife, Inez. Newt homesteaded in the Bitterroot in 1883, then returned to Redfield, KS in the fall of 1886 to marry his sweetheart, Fannie (Mary Frances) Wagy. They arrived in Corvallis in the spring of 1887 where their first house, a log cabin, was waiting. Fannie's daughter Inez prized the limas for their small size and often served them, creamed, at holiday dinners. SSE Accession # 112685