Round Valley (Covelo) Bush Bean
This rare heirloom comes from the Round Valley of Northern California, where the town of Covelo is located. The University of California has been unable to match it with any other known bean, or to find out it's history. It is one of the very few Native American heirloom beans from the Pacific coast. It is popular in the Round Valley as a dry bean, and makes wonderful soup. Also makes a nice green snap bean, like a bush Romano. It has a bush habit and makes a heavy set of flat, 6" pods. The county library, through its seed library program, has made this piece of local food culture available to residents of Covelo. We are very happy indeed to be part of this re-matriation effort.
Much of the Round Valley is a reservation, home of the Round Valley Tribes, descendants of the Yuki, Concow Maidu, Pomo, Nomlaki, Cahto, Wailake, and Pit River peoples who were forced onto the reservation in the 1860's. It is likely that this bean was bred by them to cope with the local conditions of extreme summer heat, from beans grown by the settlers nearby. It has become extremely rare, and we are privileged to carry this historic bean.