The second rarest bean I grow and maintain. A very, very rare and endangered,  hard to track down bean. This beautiful bean originated with Iroquois Indians and was added to cornbread. The purplish seed is mottled with cream and is best used as a dry bean. The plants are semi vine, large pods, and pretty productive. 
They originally came from Norton Rickard an elder of the Tuscarora Nation. The bread bean came from an elder Tuscarora woman in NY down near the PA border over 50 years ago when he was teen. The lady gave the beans to his older brother and told him they were special bread beans, to grow the beans, and not let them die by no longer planting them. So his brother grew them and eventually Norton did. The beans are a cooking bean. They can be used in any bean dish like chili, but they are specifically used by the Tuscaroras for bean bread. Bean Bread has been a staple of the Tuscarora for a long time.