Phaseolus vulgaris
Origin: Munsee Lenape people (New Jersey/New York/Pennsylvania)
Improvement status: Landrace
Seeds per packet: ~20
Germination tested 10/2025: 96%
Life cycle: Annual
'Munsee Wampum' is a beautiful and productive heirloom pole bean of the Lenape people. We got our seed-stock from our dear friend Sylvia Davatz, founder of Solstice Seeds in Vermont, and she doubtless received it from Dr. William Woys Weaver and his Roughwood Seed Collection. According to Dr. Weaver, his grandfather H. Ralph Weaver collected the seed in the 1930s from the Cuddeback family of Minisink, New Jersey. The town of Minisink is actually located across the border in New York, but that whole region has a long history as a center of Munsee-speaking Lenape culture (it is today home to the Ramapough Lenape people).
Most beans of this variety are tan and dark purple (evoking the purple and white colors of wampum shells), while some are tan and brown. Every so often a plant will produce beans that are mostly purple, with light tan dappling. The beans are delicious both when harvested fresh, as a shelly bean, or dry. You'll want to use a strong trellis, as the heavy pods can pull down a weak one. This is a great variety to grow in a "Three Sisters"-style polyculture arrangement with corn and squash, but you'll want to be sure to use a tall, sturdy, strong corn variety, as these vines can reach 12 feet in length!
Our seed was grown by EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman in collaboration with The Seed Farm at Princeton University. 25% of the packet price of every packet sold will be donated to the Ramapough Culture and Land Fund to support their important work restoring lost foodways and lifeways to their proud people.
