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beans vs peas

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Simon - 26 Jul 2008 01:05 GMT
Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
difference?

thanks,
Simon
The Cook - 26 Jul 2008 12:19 GMT
>Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
>there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
>difference?
>
>thanks,
>Simon

Different.
Beans are of the genus Phaseolus, bush beans are Phaseolus vulgaris,
pole beans Phaseolus limensus.
Peas are of the genus Pisum.
Wil - 26 Jul 2008 13:51 GMT
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:05:56 -0700 (PDT), Simon
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> pole beans Phaseolus limensus.
> Peas are of the genus Pisum.

woosh!...... (as the sound of comprehension does a mach 3 over my
head)

I don't know about you Simon, but that certainly cleared it up for me.
lol

Hey The Cook,  can we get that in human language please?

Wil
Gary Woods - 26 Jul 2008 15:06 GMT
>Hey The Cook,  can we get that in human language please?

They're utterly different plants, having in common only that they are both
vines.

Human enough?

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G
Wil - 29 Jul 2008 16:09 GMT
> >Hey The Cook,  can we get that in human language please?
>
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
> Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Better. 8^)
David Hare-Scott - 27 Jul 2008 03:59 GMT
On Jul 26, 8:13 am, The Cook <susan_r23...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:05:56 -0700 (PDT), Simon
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> pole beans Phaseolus limensus.
> Peas are of the genus Pisum.

woosh!...... (as the sound of comprehension does a mach 3 over my
head)

I don't know about you Simon, but that certainly cleared it up for me.
lol

Hey The Cook,  can we get that in human language please?

Wil

I don't know how you answer this question other than to use the binomial
botanical names.  The common names are part of the problem as many different
species are called "beans" or "peas" of one sort or another, so this sheds no
light on how similar or different they might be.

Wikipedia has quite fair articles on beans and peas which list many kinds and
give the botanical names.  You can get _some_ idea how closely related they
are by following the botanical names up the hierarchy until they join.  This
method is limited as the naming system is somewhat arbitrary.  It is always
being altered and has to be seen as a contruction of science not a fact of
nature.

A trained botanist could describe the different structures and identifying
features of each kind of bean or pea but I'm not sure it would help that
much - in any case we don't have one handy unless there is a reader who would
like to delurk and lay it all out.

David

David
Wil - 29 Jul 2008 16:11 GMT
> On Jul 26, 8:13 am, The Cook <susan_r23...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 43 lines]
>
> David

Thanks for trying, but that didn't help me much. 8^)  Am just an
unedjumacated guy I guess.
Pavel314 - 26 Jul 2008 14:33 GMT
> Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
> there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
> difference?
>
> thanks,
> Simon

Peas have tendrils to hold onto their support while beans wrap their stalks
around it.

Paul
farmerdill@bellsouth.net - 26 Jul 2008 15:24 GMT
> > Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
> > there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Paul

It is a big more complicated. Bean is used for a lot of different
things and usually tagged by shape. Common beans which include snap
beans, dry shelling beans, wax beans ( pole or bush) are in one
group ) Phaseolus vulgaris. These are the ones we normally eat as
beans. A second group is the runner bean, which comes in either pole
or bush form. This one is more ornamental having bright showy blossoms
of red, white, pink, or multi-colored.(Phaseolus coccineus) You also
have the exotic beans  like the Tepary ( Phaseolus acutifolius), the
Hyacinthe bean (Dolichos lab lab), the Sword bean ( Canavalia
gladiata) these are all used as vegetables somewhere in the world. We
won't get into things like coffee beans.

Peas are also complicated as some of them are called beans under some
circumstances. The most common is the English pea (Pisum sativum)
Asian peas (Snowpeas) and snap peas are a subgroup. Then you have
southern peas/cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata)  slick vines quite different
from common beans, some subspecies are sold as beans. Adzuki and long
beans for example. There are lots of  non edible "peas" like sweet
peas but lets not get into those.
KPawel - 27 Jul 2008 23:43 GMT
> Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
> there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
> difference?
>
> thanks,
> Simon

A bean is a has a seed that can be split or broken (when dried) into
two identical halves. With peas, the seeds are whole.
Think of the diffefence between a pinto bean and an English pea. BTW..
a "black-eyed pea" is not a pea. It's a bean.

Kelly Paul Graham
Houston Texas
Simon - 28 Jul 2008 02:37 GMT
> > Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
> > there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Kelly Paul Graham
> Houston Texas

So I guess a "peanut" should rally be a "beannut"  :) thanks for the
replies.

Simon
farmerdill@bellsouth.net - 28 Jul 2008 13:53 GMT
> > > Just curious.  What is the difference between "Beans" and "peas"?  is
> > > there a biological distinction? or just a linguistic/interchangeable
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

Peanuts have growth habits more akin to southern peas hence the old
name "Goober Peas" but they are a unique group. Actually English peas
also split in half when dry. That how we get "split peas" for soup.
There is no clear cut answer as each group has distinctive
characteristics and they don't cross with each other.  No one would
mistake an English pea vine for a common bean or any of the exotic
bean vines. Same is true of southern peas. Vines are unique. In
general peas have slick vines and beans have hairy vines that enable
them to cling. While southern peas will twine some, their slick vines
do not enable them to cling like common beans.
 
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