One of the oldest known cultivated plants, the broad bean or fava bean (Vicia faba) is a legume related to vetch. Native to Africa and the Middle East, it is also known as Windsor bean, Scotch bean, and horse bean.

Broad beans make an excellent substitute for lima beans in cold, short-season areas where the latter cannot be grown successfully. Plant them in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked (at the same time as peas). They need the long cool springs to set their pods; warm weather—above 70 degrees Fahrenheit—inhibits flowering and pod setting. Broad beans will survive frost but not a heavy freeze. Their taste has been described as between that of a garden pea and a lima bean, with rich nutty overtones.