Española Valley

Espanola Valley is a habas landrace from the Rio Grande country of northern New Mexico, and Native Seeds/SEARCH records that it has been grown near Espanola since the 1800s, making it one of the older continuously cultivated favas in the American Southwest. It is conserved as part of the organisation's seed bank collection alongside a small group of related northern New Mexico favas including Cuarteles, Ojito Haba, San Ildefonso, San Luis and Truchas Habas. Its distinguishing feature within that group is the seed itself: large, and paler than most, running from light green through chartreuse to light brown. Local use is broader than the usual fresh-or-dried split, since Native Seeds/SEARCH lists it as eaten green, boiled, or dry roasted, that last treatment turning the mature seed into a snack rather than a soup ingredient. Cold tolerance is enough for brief freezes, which is what allows it to be overwintered in the low desert.