"They've been collected in the southern Region of Tarija, Bolivia."

It's impossible to know, from this information, what the beans will be like. Nor can we know whether the beans were collected from the wild or from a source such as a market. That phraseology could apply to either.

My best guess is that they were collected from a market and, because they are from a far-away place, they are different from what you have. In what way they might be different is impossible to know. So, we don't know if they have traits you might want to breed into your favas.

Not much help, am I? All I can say is that, to find the answer to your questions, you would need to gamble a few bucks on ten seeds and grow them out.

How great is your involvement in growing favas? You are "a Major Fava Bean Freak". Does that extend in a big way to growing and breeding them or mostly to eating them?

Jim

Here's another big fan of fava beans (though I've never grown them). They are especially delicious when eaten with a good, sharp Italian Pecorino cheese and a glass of red.....

A few other alternatives of fava seeds in case you're interested:

http://www.growitalian.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=009&DEPT=1070796144&BACK=A0001A1

http://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/beans/beans_fava.html

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/bean.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Sandhill Preservation

Since Favas are thought to originate in the Mediterranean region or Asia, it would perhaps be one brought by immigrants? Thompson and Morgan lists 5 varieties of Favas. Theirs run 50 seeds for $2.95-3.25, shipping under $15 is $3.95. They list both green seeded and white seeded, and have one especially selected to be eaten small for the pods. My Armenian neighbors ate all favas that way, though I like to eat the mature seeds better. I have a variety from the Abundant Life Seed Foundation, before the fire, that is red-seeded, Frog Island Nation. The Seed Saver's Exchange might have some other unusual offerings. The ebay price seems a little steep to me.

Personally, I think there is no need to order favas from Bolivia, other than for curiosity. There are better sources nearby, at more reasonable prices.

T & M, as mentioned by Hemnancy, is probably the best U.S. source. Territorial, Seeds of Change, Bountiful Gardens, and Sand Hill Preservation all carry at least two favas.

Prairie Garden Seeds (Canada) is the best North American commercial source of favas that I know of, but I haven't ordered from them personally, and don't know if they ship to the U.S. They carry about 20 varieties, many of them unusual, so they are worth a try.

SSE, much to my surprise, offers none through its catalog. SSE members have in the past offered 80+ varieties of fava through seed exchanges, but that's way down this year, to just 22. The curator for favas is not offering any this year.

" Native seed search " carries a PURPLE VARIETY from South of the border . We can buy other types by the pound here including a type from Portugal which is the prefered , and they are sold as food but they are dried beans and grow well.