Yard Long Flower

Not really — the produce from this vine is called Yard Long Beans — also known as Asparagus bean, dow gauk, Chinese long beans, Peru bean, and Snake bean. The flowers are pale, delicate little things about the size of a thumbnail or just a little bigger. This photo was snapped in our garden this morning. The little beans rising on the left are about an inch long (~3cm), but they will be as long as your forearm (Cap’n says a cubit??) in a couple of weeks when they get picked.

I found this on Farm and Garden:

ASPARAGUS BEAN

History, definition & classification

The asparagus or yard long bean originated in southern Asia and is now grown extensively in Asia, Europe, and most recently, the United States. These unique beans grow on twining, delicate stems with a tenacious root system. The plants bloom in mid-summer with a pair of large white or purple flowers. Once pollinated, the flowers are followed by tiny dark green beans that reach a foot long in only a few days. The beans can grow up to three feet long, ripening to pale green and inflating as the red or black seeds ripen.

Although they resemble pole snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), asparagus beans are more closely related to southern cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata. Asparagus bean, Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, is called dow gauk in China, sasage in Japan, and Chinese long bean or yardlong bean in Europe and the United States.

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