The question of whether beans grow on trees often leads to confusion, as the term “bean” is used broadly in everyday language. While some familiar “beans” do not grow on trees, others are indeed products of tree-like plants. Understanding the botanical classifications helps clarify these distinctions, revealing the diverse origins of what we commonly refer to as beans.
Where Common Beans Grow
Most common beans, such as green beans, kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans, are not grown on trees. These are legumes that grow as either bush beans or pole beans. Bush beans are compact plants that reach about 20 inches tall and do not require external support. They produce their harvest over a shorter, more concentrated period.
Pole beans are climbing or vining plants that can extend up to 6 feet in height. These varieties require support structures like trellises or poles to grow vertically. Unlike bush beans, pole beans yield a continuous harvest throughout the growing season until the first frost. Both types are annual plants cultivated for their edible seeds or pods.
What Are True Beans?
True beans belong to the Fabaceae family, also known as the legume or pea family. This family includes a wide variety of plants, ranging from small annual herbs to shrubs and even some trees. A defining characteristic of these plants is their fruit, which is always a legume—a dry pod that splits open to release its seeds.
These plants are annuals, completing their life cycle within a single growing season. Their seeds, beans, develop inside these pods. The term “faba,” from which the family name Fabaceae is derived, means “bean” in Latin, emphasizing the primary product of many plants within this group.
Other “Beans” That Grow on Trees
While common beans are not tree-borne, several other widely recognized “beans” originate from trees or tree-like plants, though they are not botanically true beans. Coffee beans, for example, are the seeds found inside the fruit, or cherries, of the Coffea plant. These plants are evergreen shrubs or small trees that can grow several meters tall. Coffee trees produce white flowers that develop into red, yellow, or orange cherries, each commonly containing two seeds.
Cocoa beans are another example, the dried and fermented seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. The cacao tree is a small evergreen tree, 6 to 12 meters tall, native to the Amazon rainforest. Its seeds grow inside football-shaped pods that emerge directly from the trunk and larger branches. These pods can be green, yellow, orange, or red depending on the variety and contain 30 to 50 seeds surrounded by a white pulp.
Vanilla beans are the fruit of the Vanilla planifolia orchid, a climbing vine. This orchid is a hemiepiphytic liana that climbs and roots onto host trees or other supports. The “bean” is an elongated, fleshy capsule that ripens over several months after the orchid’s flower is pollinated. It is the only orchid species widely cultivated for an edible fruit.