Happy National Legume Day
Legumes are defined as members of the bean family. This family is large and diverse and contains over 16,000 species. There are many important groups of legumes in the human diet today. They include:
Snow peas
Lentils
Peas
Broad beans
Chickpeas
Soybeans
Beans (lima, common)
Peanuts
In terms of importance to humans, the legume family is second only to the grass family. Every major civilization has had a legume as well as a grain as a part of their support system. Examples include:
Barley and lentils
Corn and beans
Rice and soybeans
Fun Facts
Broad beans have been in cultivation for 6,000 years in the Americas.
There are over 4,000 cultivars of beans in the U.S. alone.
Christopher Columbus observed Native Americans cultivating beans in the "three sisters method" or "companion planting method":
Tribes would grow beans, corn, and squash together.
Corn was planted in a checkerboard pattern, not in rows like today; beans were planted at the base of the corn stalk.
Corn stalks would serve as trellises for the beans and in turn, the beans would fertilize the soil.
Squash was planted in the spaces between the corn plants and thus protected from the sun.
Animals were also deterred from eating the squash due to the dense corn and bean vines.
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