A bowl of differently colored beans can show visible variation. It cannot, by itself, establish each bean's species, named variety, genetic profile, growing region, farming system, or cultural history.
That distinction matters because crop diversity is more than a palette. FAO's plant-genetic-resource framework includes traditional varieties, modern cultivars, crop wild relatives, and other plant material used in food and agriculture. USDA Agricultural Research Service maintains, evaluates, documents, and distributes common-bean germplasm to support research and crop improvement.
Aware of My Food will not look at an illustrated mottled bean and assign it a romantic name. A responsible bean story begins with a documented variety or accession, a source, a place and scope, and clearly labeled unknowns. Cultural history needs its own sources and review.
What named bean variety should we investigate next? Include a reliable regional, university, genebank, grower, or community source if you know one.