Lima Bean
Phaseolus lunatus
Frequently cultivated (both commercially and in home gardens), rarely found as a waif. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
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Not native
Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Florida counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
68CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Phaseolus
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
- Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
Show all 68
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Autoplusia egenaBean-Leaf Skeletonizer Moth
- Cecropterus bathyllusSouthern Cloudywing
- Cecropterus dorantesDorantes Longtail, Lilac-Banded Longtail
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Cupido comyntasEastern Tailed-Blue
- Dasylophia thyatiroidesGray-Patched Prominent
- Dysodia oculatanaEyed Thyris
- Elaphria agrotinaBicolored Midget
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Fundella pellucensCaribbean Podborer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hemiargus ceraunusCeraunus Blue, Antillean Blue
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Leptotes cassiusCassius Blue, Tropical Striped Blue
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Monoptilota pergratialisLima Bean Vine Borer
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Omiodes indicataBean-Leaf Webworm Moth
- Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Telegonus cellusGolden Banded-Skipper , Golden-Banded Skipper
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Ufa rubedinellaRed Washed Ufa
- Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
- Amorbia concavana
- Ancylostomia stercorea
- Phidotricha erigens
- Porphyrosela desmodiella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Phaseolus
- Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Fabaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications