World · Latin America · 2 hrs ago
Ayocote flowers are used in Mexican stews and tamales
Ayocote is a climbing bean plant native to Mexico and cultivated there since pre-Hispanic times.
It grows in highland fields and other habitats, including pine-oak forests.
Its flowers are cooked as quelites, a traditional category of tender edible plants used in Mexican cooking.
In communities in central and southern Mexico, the flowers are prepared in stews and tamales, often with ingredients such as tomato, onion or chile.
The same plant provides food at several stages: people eat its flowers and young pods, and dry its mature beans for later use.
Bees, bumblebees and hummingbirds carry its pollen between plants during flowering.
This makes ayocote both a food crop and a plant that supports pollinators in Mexico’s mountains.
Ayocote flowers are eaten as quelites in stews and tamales in Mexico.
The plant, known scientifically as Phaseolus coccineus, has been cultivated in Mexico’s highland regions since pre-Hispanic times.
Its flowers, young pods and dried beans can all be used as food.
Ayocote flowers are gathered fresh during flowering, then cleaned and cooked with ingredients such as tomato, onion, chile or corn dough.
The plant also supports pollinators, including bees, bumblebees and hummingbirds.
- Who
- Farming and Indigenous communities in central and southern Mexico use ayocote flowers in cooking.
- What
- Ayocote flowers are cooked in stews and tamales. The plant’s young pods and dried beans are also eaten.
- When
- The plant has been cultivated since pre-Hispanic times. Flowers are gathered fresh during the flowering season.
- Where
- Mexico, especially farming and Indigenous communities in the country’s central and southern regions.
- Why
- The flowers are a seasonal food used in regional cooking; the plant also provides edible pods and beans.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Ayocote has been cultivated in Mexico’s highland regions since this period.
Fresh ayocote flowers are gathered, cleaned and cooked.
- Scientific name
- Phaseolus coccineus L.
- Cultivation history
- Since pre-Hispanic times
- Flower uses
- Stews and tamales
- Other edible parts
- Young pods and dried seeds
- Pollinators
- Bees, bumblebees and hummingbirds
1 source
What people are saying
The flowers of ayocote are consumed in stews and tamales