Slimjim Bean
Phaseolus filiformis
(P. wrightii)
Observed at Mesquite Wash, Maricopa Co., Arizona on 18 October 2009.
FLOWERS: Hot pink pea flowers with two prominent wings looking like
rabbit-ears. Color may also be purplish. Calyx short. Flowering mostly after
summer rains, July thru November.
HERBACEOUS VINE: A weakly twining vine often low and obscure.
FRUIT: Small, ca. 3cm, pod with one or a few beans.
LEAVES: Compound leaves with usu. three broadly triangular leaflets that
usu. have shallow lobes.
RANGE: This plant is found in canyons and along washes in the Sonoran
Desert. Generally distributed across the southwestern United States from
California to Texas and south into Mexico.
UNARMED