Arrived in Lima

UPDATE: We are in Lima after our 20 hour bus-ride. While bus isn't the best way to travel, this was the comfiest bus I've ever ridden. Of course it had its wackiness-five on board movies and the 6:30AM wake-up playlist of salsa, cumbia, and house music. But we've arrived, and we have a place to stay and food to eat. So we are grateful.

Speaking of food, I've been wondering about this one ever since the first time I had the beans Peruvians call "habas" back on my Study Abroad experience in 2013. Do we call Phaseolus lunatus Lima Beans in English because they originally came from Peru and were exported through Lima?


The answer is Yes.

From Wikipedia:

P. lunatus is of Andean and Mesoamerican origin. Two separate domestication events are believed to have occurred. The first, taking place in the Andes around 2000 BC,^[2]produced a large-seeded variety (lima type), while the second, taking place in Mesoamerica around 800 AD, produced a small-seeded variety (Sieva type).^[2] By around 1300, cultivation had spread north of the Rio Grande, and in the 1500s, the plant began to be cultivated in the Old World.^[2] 

The Moche Culture (0-800 CE) cultivated lima beans heavily and often depicted them in their art.^[3] During the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, lima beans were exported to the rest of the Americas and Europe, and since the boxes of such goods had their place of origin labeled "Lima, Peru", the beans got named as such.

Does this mean we should be calling them "Leem-a" beans instead of "Lime-a" beans?