[3] Despite the common name of "yardlong", the pods are actually only about half a yard long, so the subspecies name sesquipedalis (one-and-a-half-foot-long; 1.5 feet (0.50 yd)) is a more accurate approximation.

The plants take longer to reach maturity than bush beans, but once they start producing, the pods are quick-growing, and daily checking and harvesting are often necessary.

Yardlong beans are also separated from the pod and are cooked with the buds of the alukon tree (Broussonetia luzonica, synonym Alleaenthus luzonicus) and other vegetables in a dish called agaya in northeastern Luzon.

Similarly, in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, it is an Indo-Trinidadian/Indo-Guyanese dish that is fried or curried and served with roti or rice.

They're called මෑ කරල් (mae karal) in Sri Lankan cuisine, and are used for stir fries and as a curry.

The Department of Agriculture (Sri Lanka) has released 8 varieties of the bean for cultivation.