The Fabaceae family is immense. Beans have been one of the most widely used crops for millennia, and have been used in the human diet as a source of plant protein in food. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of species that have been used in food and other diverse uses in humanity and many of them are greatly under utilized, some even being lost or practically unknown to the majority of the population. However, some are used in small towns or communities scattered around the globe. Many of these species can be toxic, only some parts of the plants are used like the roots, some are only used for cultural purposes or for rituals as a bargaining chip.

The conservation of these rare species depends on our capacity to spread knowledge and promote their cultivation as much as possible. It is the lack of knowledge about these species that has led to many of them to be catalogued as “rare“. However, they are appreciated by botanists and plant collectors but many of them are in danger of extinction in their places of origin, due to replacement by commercial options or to ancestral and cultural ignorance.

In this event you can hear about some very interesting, although not necessarily “extravagant” species, which fall into the category of “exotic legumes“. You can discover some curious facts, uses and their current predicament.

You will hear about our experiences growing these ‘not-so-well-known’ legumes in Berlin. While many of those legumes originate in a tropical climate it is still possible to grow most of them successfully in a central European climate, which adds variety, interest and often beauty to our gardens. Some of these exotic legumes might even become more important in agriculture as our climate is changing. Our aim, with your help, is to make these not-so-well-known legumes become commonly known.

The meeting will last one hour and will be followed by a 30-minute questions and answers session.