Southern
Peas
Fun Facts
Plant Family: Fabaceae
Botanical Name: Vigna unguiculata
Botanical Origin: Savanna zones of West Africa (sub-Saharan Africa)
Common Names: Southern peas, African peas, black-eyed pea, cowpea, crowders, stock peas, field peas | njahi, ewa, adalu (Nigeria, and other parts of West Africa | niébé (Senegal / French West Africa)
Edible Parts: Best known for its dry seeds in the form of dried black-eyed peas, but the peas work well as ‘shelly peas’ when they’re fresh. The immature pods are also great cooked up as green beans. The leaves are a protein-rich green.
Southern Peas are legumes that we love. One of the big reasons is that they don’t suffer from the same levels of insect pressure as the common bean. And even though the common bean seems to get more attention for its bean diversity, the southern pea has plenty to show off. We love exploring all the different varieties, from the smallest delicate lady peas, to the larger field peas and crowders.
Southern peas are part of the Vigna genus, a collection of very drought-tolerant and heat-loving legumes. They don’t like our cooler early springtime soils, but once it warms up a little, they are hard to stop!
The greens are a really nutrient-dense summer offering, sadly proven so by our local deeer population’s extreme preference for them!
