''Phaseolus ritensis'' is a plant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

native to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, Chihuahua,

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

and

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

. Common names include " Santa Rita Mountain bean" (in US) and " cocolmeca" in Mexico. It grows in forested areas in the mountains. ''Phaseolus ritensis'' is a perennial herb with a large woody

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

. It is a trailing herb with

trifoliate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets ...

leaves and pink to lavender flowers.M.E.Jones, Contributions of Western Botany. 12: 14. 1908

Uses

The plant is widely valued for both food and medicine throughout much of its native range. Green and ripe fruits served as an important food source in times past. Roots are the source of medicine, glue, and a fermenting agent.Pennington, CW. 1963. The Tarahumar of Mexico, their material culture. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City

References

ritensis Flora of Mexico Flora of Arizona Flora of Sonora Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Sinaloa Flora of Nuevo León Medicinal plants {{Phaseoleae-stub