butter-bean plant

4.5

A bush that grows small flat beans you can eat, often served as a vegetable

noun
/ˈbʌtər biːn plænt/

: planta de frijol mantequilla

My grandmother grows butter-bean plants every summer for their tender beans.

Examples

Gardeners in the South often prefer butter-bean plants for their reliable yield.
The fields were lined with rows of butter-bean plants waiting to be harvested.
The butter-bean plant thrives in warm climates.
Many gardeners love the butter-bean plant for its taste.
Gardeners in the South often prefer butter-bean plants for their reliable yield.
My grandmother grows butter-bean plants every summer for their tender beans.
The fields were lined with rows of butter-bean plants waiting to be harvested.

Synonyms

lima bean

vsbutter-bean plant

9 2.5

A flat pale green or white bean that people cook and eat

is a southern bush variety with smaller seeds and local cultivation

butter bean

vsbutter-bean plant

1 2.0

A plant that makes large flat beans people cook and eat

is used only for the bush plant not the seeds

bush bean

vsbutter-bean plant

1 3.3

A low-growing bean plant that forms a compact shape and does not need support

is one particular bush plant cultivated for small flat edible seeds

Phaseolus lunatus

vsbutter-bean plant

Specialized

7.6

A bush plant that grows small flat edible lima beans

is the everyday common name rather than the Latin term

sieva bean

vsbutter-bean plant

6.9

A small flat green bean or the plant that grows it eaten as food

is the southern bush form producing the same small flat seeds

lima bean plant

vsbutter-bean plant

2.8

A plant that grows pods with large flat beans people eat

is a specific bush type with smaller seeds and southern focus

Phaseolus limensis

vsbutter-bean plant

Specialized

9.1

A plant that produces large flat seeds called Lima beans

is the southern bush variety known for small flat seeds

Surface Forms

butter-bean plant singular

butter-bean plants plural

Morphology

butter-bean + plant

This is a straightforward modifier + noun composition: 'butter-bean' (a type of bean) + 'plant' yields 'a plant that produces butter beans.' A B1 learner who knows the constituent words (butter/bean/plant) can readily infer this referential meaning because the construction follows a common, compositional pattern found across languages.

Etymology

Butter-bean plant may come from the beans' soft, buttery taste and pale color; people began calling the seeds butter-beans, and the plant is the bush that grows them. So 'a bush that produces tender, edible beans' is the modern meaning of the name.