Dave Smith wrote:

> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>
>>>Silly. That would be haricots de Lima.
>>
>>Green. Beans.
>>
>>Haricots verd.
>
>
> You are being obtuse Nancy. You know that there is a vegetable
> called green beans and you know that there is a completely
> style of bean called Lima beans. No one has suggested that
> green beans are interchangeable with Lima beans, white, beans,
> broad beans, navy beans, pinto beans, black beans, etc., not
> even their very close relative the yellow bean.
>
> Seed vendors have all sorts of variations of the basic fruits
> and vegetables. Most of them have a number and letter
> designation and then a marketing name. Some of them have
> varieties that are marketed as Haricots verts, but that just
> means that they are a variety with a tasty pod and not too
> coarse a string.
>

On the topic of seed vendors and since I'm drooling over the new seed
catelogues in prep for this year's garden, I thought I would toss this
into the conversation. Seed vendors generally divide beans into two
categories, bush or pole. In general, pole beans tend to be heavier
bearers. These two categories are further divided into yellow or green
but there is also burgundy. The burgundy is rather interesting in the
bean is a deep burgundy but turns green when cooked. Then the beans can
be string or stringless. I *think* that covers the basics but some seed
vendors may subdivid the categories further. The broad/fava beans are
another category but not of real interest to this discussion. I have
grown both bush and pole beans. By far, Kentucky Wonder pole beans are
ideal for canning or freezing and fresh eating but you do have to be
sure to pick before the string gets too hard. These are great producers
with large pods about 8" long. Be warned, mine filled an 8' tall
trellis last year and were still expanding near the end of October.
I've had lesser yields with the bush beans with golden wax and royal
burgundy being the best producers. This year I intend to plant a
Kentucy Wonder Was yellow bean and likely eliminate the golden wax. I
want heavy yielders for freezing and canning. One seed vendor has a
variety called *French Horticultural Bush*. The pods are picked when 6"
long and used as snap beans but the pods are red/yellow so that wouldn't
fit into what the OP was talking about. My guess is what the OP had was
either a string bean picked early enough to prevent harding of the
string or something ling Slenderette that has 5" slender, smooth,
stringless pods. It is really hard to say as different vendors use
different names sometimes.