Looks like a runner bean, probably Scarlet Runner or something similar. The location is a bit surprising, though, since runner beans tend to set pods poorly in warmer climates. Until pods set, the vines will bloom all Summer, and their red flowers are attractive. Were there flowers visible when the bean was picked?

Runner beans even have trouble setting pods in my Wisconsin summers, until the heat drops to the lower 70's for a couple days. The long, frost-less Fall we've had up here has produced a bumper crop of pods... with frost finally coming tonight, I picked the vines bare, and got a bucket full.

Thanks for the info, zeedman. I can tell you that Boone has a climate that is far cooler and less humid than the rest of the southeast US because of its location in the Appalachian Mtns. It's winters are long and cold, too.

I'm curious about the choice of coin for scale. Has NC adopted the Euro ;-)?

Also interested in the statement 'Until pods set, the vines will bloom all Summer...' That is a real contrast to their behaviour here. They set pods immediately they start blooming in our cool climate and if you don't pick them they stop producing.

Flora, runners blooming for most of the summer is fairly common here, with the brief springs & hot summers of an inland continental climate. If we have a cool summer, or at least a week-long cool spell, then the vines might set enough pods to shorten the blooming period.

That was not the case this year. Other than a one-day departure into the low 70's (which allowed a few pods to set) blossoms dropped until September - and the vines bloomed until frost. The pods I get here are not the beautiful long pods you get in a maritime climate, either... they are usually short, with only 2-3 seeds. Only a fair dry-seed yield this year, but a lot of late set pods for snaps & shellies.