Phaseolus vulgaris, the
common bean (also known as the
string bean,
field bean,
flageolet bean,
French bean,
garden bean,
green bean,
haricot bean,
pop bean, or
snap bean), is a
herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seed (known as just "
beans") or unripe fruit (
green beans). Its
leaf is also occasionally used as a
vegetable and the
straw as
fodder. Its
botanical classification, along with other
Phaseolus species, is as a member of the
legume family Fabaceae, most of whose members acquire the
nitrogen they require through an association with
rhizobia, a species of
nitrogen-fixing bacteria.