I planted what was supposed to be butterbeans last summer, and this is what i grew:


its possible, though not likely that i ordered speckled lima beans (not a favorite here)
So, i opened the dixie butterbean packet I'm saving for 2015, and the seeds look like this:





sooooo, do those speckled ones look like lima beans, butterbeans, or a mix? I no longer have the packet

Butter Beans, Lima Beans are the common names for Phaseolus lunatus http://garden.org/plants/searc...

I have grown speckled ones that look very much like your first photo. They were delicious.

We have one colored similar to yours in our ATP database. There are many other speckled ones out there.
Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus 'Florida Speckled')

That looks like them. We will eat them, I'm just a little disappointed.

Have you eaten any of them yet?

No, still peeling them out of the pods. Do they taste like lima beans?

Yes they do. But each type of butter bean has it's own distinct differences in flavor. Some have very strong flavor, some mild. Some have a very creamy texture, some have a dry, almost mealy texture.
Would love to hear your opinion on this one when you cook it. They make lovely dried beads also, but you would have to let them dry on the plant before harvesting.

I cooked some. Don't think they taste like butterbeans OR limabeans. They are yummy though. I'm saving some of the seeds for next year. They were the only dried bean i planted, so it was wonderful to have after all the greenbeans were gone.

I am glad to hear that they are not a disappointment.

Okay, this sounds dumb even to me... but what is the difference between butterbeans and lima beans? Are butterbeans the dry beans, and limas are the green shelly beans? Or ???

Here you go Sandy.
http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/f...

Thanks, Lynn ! I much prefer the ones sold as "baby lima beans," so I guess it's the butter beans that I like!!

I really love them all. Right now my mouth is watering just thinking of them cooked, with a big piece of homemade cornbread.

Remember this song written by Charles C Colvin? Sung by Little Jimmy Dickens:

I do remember hearing him sing that song.

And there is this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...