Habit (mature) - Harry Rose / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 2.0
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Edamame (soybean)
Glycine max
Soybean grown as a fresh-shell vegetable — edamame — an easy warm-season annual in the bean family (Fabaceae), native to China and the Russian Far East. NC State Extension describes a columnar, dense, multi-stemmed mounding plant about 1-2 feet tall and 9 inches to 2 feet wide, with hairy compound leaves and small pinkish pea-type flowers that give way to fuzzy legume pods. Like other legumes it fixes nitrogen, and NC State recommends inoculating seed with a soybean inoculant for best results. Pods are picked young and green for edamame, or left to dry on the plant for dry soybeans.
Edible
Container
Light
Full sun
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
12-24" tall · 6" apart
Hardy in zones
Annual everywhere
AHS heat range
6-11
Plant range authored in AHS heat-zone terms.
Native in Illinois
No
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An easy-to-grow edible-seed vegetable.
Cold hardiness
Future
This plant is grown as an annual; hardiness zones don't apply.
Heat tolerance
Future
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Edamame (soybean) (Glycine max). Retrieved 2026, June 14, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/glycine-max
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Backs 17 fields
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