the.com/cowpea
the bean that fed empires, fixes its own nitrogen, and shrugs at drought
means A drought-tolerant legume (Vigna unguiculata) grown for its edible seeds and pods, also known as black-eyed pea or southern pea.
from A plain English compound — "cow" plus "pea" — recording the plant's early use in Europe and the Americas as fodder for cattle. The plant itself is far older, domesticated in West Africa and carried across the world through trade and the transatlantic slave trade; "pea" descends from Latin pisum (via Greek pison), the same root that gives us the ordinary garden pea.
- origin
- Domesticated in West Africa thousands of years ago
- black-eyed
- Black-eyed peas are just one cowpea variety
- self-feeding
- Pulls nitrogen from air into the soil
- drought proof
- Thrives where most crops simply quit
- whole plant
- Leaves, pods, and seeds all eaten
black-eyed pea — legume crop widely grown in southern united states and west africa, accounts for millions of tons annually
yard-long bean — vigna unguiculata subspecies cultivated across asia, produces pods 12-16 inches long
crowder pea — heirloom variety traditionally grown in georgia and the american south since colonial times