Starting Day 29
Day 29, 30. Becoming flower buds.
Figure 1. The flowering bean plant. The apex of a compact bean plant stem showing young flower buds (arrow). Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Figure 2. The flowering bean plant. Flower buds forming in the axil of a young trifoliate leaf. Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Figure 3. A longitudinal section through a preserved flowering bean plant. A longitudinal section through the stem terminal of a bean plant showing multiple flower buds (arrows) at the terminal of the stem. Slide preparation by Triarch Incorporated (Ripon, WI). Used with permission. Magnified 50 times. Credit: M.E. Conley
Day 30, 31. Floral anthesis (flower opening). Some plants will continue to twine and vine. Others will stay compact and may not vine.
Figure 4. The flowering, vining bean plant. These pale pink buds and flowers don’t open like the flowers of other types of plants and each part has a special name (i.e., wings, keel, banner). This is typical of plants in the bean and pea family. Credit: M.E. Conley
Day 32, 33. A close up of bean flowers developing their full pink color.
Note: the trichomes on the edge of the leaflet (yellow arrow) and on the stem (blue arrow).
Figure 5. A close-up of a flowering bean plant. Note the trichomes on the stem (blue arrow) and leaflet margin (yellow arrow). Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Inside the immature bean flower (figures below), the reproductive parts of the bean plant have formed. They are the stamens and their parts - anthers and filaments and the pistil and its parts - stigma, style, and ovary.
Figures 6, 7. The floral parts of a bean plant. Within each flower bud (Fig. 6), the reproductive parts of the bean plant have formed (Fig. 7). They are the stamens (yellow arrow) and pistil (white arrows). Both magnified 24 times. Credits: E.T. Paparozzi
Figure 8. The reproductive parts of a bean plant. The ovary (at the base of the pistil; yellow arrow) swells once fertilization occurs. The stigma (blue arrow) and style (white arrow) of the pistil will eventually die and fall off. Magnified 9 times. Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Figure 9. Parts of a bean flower. Flowers never open fully. In this photo, on one flower, you can identify the wings (yellow arrow) and the banner (blue arrow). On the lower flower you can see the keel (white arrow). Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Day 35. Within a couple of days, the seed pod (arrow) appears under the senesced (dead) flower. If you let the plants continue to grow, you will soon see flowers and then pods in every leaflet axil.
Figure 10. The flowering bean plant. One flower shows a developing bean seed pod (arrow). Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Figure 11. Within the seed pod. These are the fertilized ovules within the ovary which become 1 seed pod. Each ovule will grow into a red kidney bean seed. Magnified 37 times. Credit: E.T. Paparozzi
Day 36. Soon other small bean pods are revealed.
Figure 12. Young seed pods. As time progresses, more and more flowers senesce (die) and reveal young seed pods. Credit: M.E. Conley and E.T. Paparozzi
Day 39/40. You should be able to see each bean within a pod.
Figure 13. Within each seed pod, bean seeds are developing. This photo, taken on day 32, captures the young bean within the pod. Magnified 36 times. Credit: E.T. Paparozzi