The black turtle bean is a small, shiny variety of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), especially popular in Latin American cuisine, though it can also be found in Cajun and Creole cuisines of south Louisiana. Black beans (and all common beans) are native to the Americas, but have been introduced around the world. They are also used in Punjabi cuisine. In Punjabi, they are known as maa ki daal, but are used interchangeably with vigna mungo in countries such as the USA . They are often called simply black beans (frijoles negros, zaragoza, judía negra, poroto negro, caraota o habichuela negra in Spanish, and feijão preto in Portuguese), although this can cause confusion with other black beans.