## 2 Taxonomy, Origin and Description of Lima Bean  
According to [PERSON] et al. [10], the taxonomic description of the lima bean is as follows: Domain: Eukaryota, Kingdom: Plantae, Phylum: Spermat, Subphylum: Angiospermae, Class: Dicotyledone, Order: FABales, Family: Fabaceae, Genus: _Phaseolus_, Species: _Phaseolus Inutatus_. The genus _Phaseolus_ consists of 50 species, of which only five {_Phaseolus Inutatus_ L., (lima bean), _Phaseolus acutifolius_ A. [PERSON] (tepary bean), _Phaseolus dumosus_ Macfad (year bean), _Phaseolus vulgaris_ L. (common bean), and _Phaseolus coccineus_ L. (scarlet runner bean)) have been domesticated [11]. The lima bean is the second-most agronomically and economically-significant legume species for humans in tropical regions after the common bean [12]. According to [PERSON] et al. [9], the origin and taxonomy of the lima bean can be confusing. It appears to have originated in the tropical area of Central and South America [13], and after the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans, it rapidly spread into Asia, Europe and Africa as new varieties were selected or evolved [14]. Figure 1 shows the current geographical distribution and concentration of this crop, where it is particularly found in South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Other geographical records of this crop include Aldabra, the Caribbean, Central America and Comoros Island [15]. Wild forms are only found in other parts of the world [10]. Indigenous names for lima beans include amaijalero (Uganda), bakla, kaisam bali-pati, loba, lobia (India), bronchi, bronchi-kai, dambala, dara-dambala, potu-bonchi (Gri-Lanka), frijol de lima, frijol de lima, frijol de mende, frijol de rat, friofilo (Nicaragua, Mexico), gros posis (Maritius), guaracara (Venezuela), Hariot De Lima (French), hariotcot de Madagascar, kabaro, kalamaka, konkova (Madagascar), kratok, kacang kara, kekara (Indonesia), hariotcot de sieva, mange-tout (Rwanda), hereboontijes (South Africa), papala (Nigeria), and tubabu soso (Senegal) [15]. Other common names include Burma bean, broad bean, butter bean, Carolina bean, civet bean, common bean, dwarf bean, fresh bean, French bean, garden bean, green bean, haba bean, Hibbert bean, sugar bean, pallar beans, Madagascar bean and guffin bean [15; 16]. The lima plant has a hood shape of twinning keels and typical flowers, and it is an annual to perennial growing plant, which can reach about 600 cm in height [10; 17]. The crop tolerates warm temperate climates (16-27 \({}^{\circ}\)C), a precipitation range of 800-1500 mm and tends to prefer well-drained soil with a pH > 6 [18; 19; 20]. The increasing growing habits of wild lima bean species show more variation, with protracted flowering periods as well as the production of larger pods than the domesticated varieties [21]. Their roots are thin and the plants can be up to 2 m in length, while the leaves are trifoliated with egg-shaped leaflets of about 1-11 cm and 3-20 cm in width and height, respectively. [10; 22]. The fruits are dehiscent pods (oblong-falcate, large flat with a crescent moon-shape) and can measure up to 12 cm in height, containing between two and four seeds [20; 22; 23]. The sprouts and young pods of the lima bean may be consumed, but the crops are mostly grown commercially for their seeds [24]. The matured green seeds are utilized as a vegetable for canning, freezing, or fresh market use [14; 25]. Seeds vary in terms of color, eye appearance, size, and shape, while their size is usually smaller than that of the common bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_) [17; 26]. The average weight of the seeds is around 146 g, with a thickness of 0.72 cm, a width of 0.8-1.50 cm and a length of 1-15 cm, depending on the cultivar [22; 27]. The weight of the seeds is higher than those of other legumes such  
Three morphotypes have been distinguished in _Phaseolus lunatus_, namely, the Big lima, which has a big flat seed, the Sieva, which has a medium flat seed, and the Potato, which has small, rounded seeds [36]. Botanical varieties of lima beans identified are the var.