The domestication of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) in Cuba: morphological and biochemical studies.

During expeditions in Central Cuba, weedy types odf Phaseolus lunatus L. were collected for the first time, on the western slope of the Escambray mountains. Wild plants were also found in the dry forest on the northern coasts of Havana province. Seed stoage protein patterns showed that P. lunatus collected in Cuba belong to the Mesoamerican gene pool (M) whose range extends from Mexico to Argentina. The Cuban wild forms are smaller than those from Peru and Ecuador.