SALEM, Ohio — Anyone can give chocolate for Valentine’s Day, but now there’s a vegetable that allows you to declare your undying devotion.

The I Love You Bean is rather self-explanatory — it’s a lima bean with the words I Love You etched onto the bean. As it sprouts, the words of affection appear.

It’s a pretty popular item, according to Grant Cleveland, president of DuneCraft, the Ohio-based company that markets the beans. They’ve only been available for a few months and thousands have already been sold.

Cleveland said the idea for the I Love You Bean, which sells for $4.99, was developed in October.

“I was just brainstorming with one of my customers and we came up with the I Love You Bean,” he said.

The first beans shipped in November and they’ve been a hit ever since. In fact, DuneCraft expects to have a Happy Birthday Bean and a Get Well Bean by June or July.

Cleveland said the words are stenciled onto the bean with a laser.