Along with corn and squash, beans constitute one of the three plant groups on which Mexico's indigenous cultures are based; and as you might expect, there's a bunch of them. All the beans listed below are picked from vines and bushes that are members of the Bean Family, and, except for the first two in the list, are native American horticultural varieties belonging to the genus Phaseolus. The list below only hints at the variety of beans found in Mexican mercados.

• Ayocote is a lima bean, Vicia faba, ranging from very dark purple to pale purple with dark purple spots. The more general Spanish word for any kind of lima bean is haba.
• Bayo, meaning "bay-colored," is a cream-tan colored bean.
• Garbanzos, sometimes called chick-peas by us, are cream- colored, irregularly shaped beans, Cicer arietinum, probably native to western Asia.
• Flor de mayo, meaning "May-flowering," and Flor de junio, meaning "June-flowering," are both cream-colored beans with pale purple markings.
• Lentejas, or lentils, as you know, are flattish, brown beans, Lens culinaris, originally from southern Europe.
• Peruano, meaning "Peruvian," is a cream-yellow bean.
• Pinto, meaning "spotted," is a tan bean with brown spots.
• Veracruz and Puebla are both black beans sharing names with large Mexican cities.

Types of beans for sale in Amecameca, Mexico State; copyright free image courtesy of "AlejandroLinaresGarcia" made available through Wikimedia Commons.