Phaseolus ritensis

Phaseolus ritensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Phaseolus
Species:	P. ritensis
Binomial name
Phaseolus ritensis M.E.Jones
Synonyms[1]
Phaseolus retusus Benth, illegitimate

Phaseolus ritensis is a plant species native to Arizona, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Nuevo León. Common names include "Santa Rita Mountain bean" (in US) and "cocolmeca" in Mexico. It grows in forested areas in the mountains.

Phaseolus ritensis is a perennial herb with a large woody taproot. It is a trailing herb with trifoliate leaves and pink to lavender flowers.^[2][3][4][5]

Uses

The plant is widely valued for both food and medicine throughout much of its native range.^{[citation needed]} Green and ripe fruits served as an important food source in times past.^[when?] Roots are the source of medicine, glue, and a fermenting agent.^[6][7]

References

1. The Plant List
2. M.E.Jones, Contributions of Western Botany. 12: 14. 1908
3. Thomas H. Kearney & Robert H. Peebles. 1979. Arizona Flora, with Supplement, Second Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley./ ISBN 0-520-00637-2
4. P. Martin et al. 2000. Gentry's Rio Mayo Plants. The Tropical Deciduous Forest & Environs of Northwest Mexico. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
5. Marechal, R., J. M. Mascherpa & F. Stainier. 1978. Etude taxonomique d'un groupe complexe d'especes ... Phaseolus et Vigna (Papilionaceae) sur ... informatique. Boissiera 28: 1–273.
6. G.P Nabhan, J.W. Berry & C.W. Weber. Wild beans of the greater Southwest: Phaseolus metcalfei and P. ritensis. Economic Botany 34:68-85. 1980.
7. Pennington, CW. 1963. The Tarahumar of Mexico, their material culture. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City