Cowpea
Overview
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of the widely cultivated genus Vigna
Vigna
The genus Vigna is in the plant family Fabaceae. The genus is named after Domenico Vigna, an Italian botanist of the 17th century. They include some well-known and other less well-known beans formerly — and sometimes still, especially in non-scholarly sources — included in the genus Phaseolus...
. Four cultivated subspecies are recognised:
- Vigna unguiculata subsp. cylindrica CatjangCatjangCatjang is a subspecies of cowpea. The catjang plant is native to Africa, and is an erect densely branched shrubby perennial of Old World tropics. It now grows in other warm regions, as well...
- Vigna unguiculata subsp. dekindtiana
- Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis Yardlong beanYardlong beanVigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, the yardlong bean, is also known as bora, the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean...
- Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata Black-eyed peaBlack-eyed peaThe black-eyed pea, also called black-eyed bean and chawalie or lobia in various languages in India and Pakistan, is a subspecies of the cowpea, grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. The bean mutates easily, giving rise to a number of varieties. The common commercial one is...
Cowpeas are one of the most important food legume crops in the semi-arid tropics covering Asia, Africa, southern Europe and Central and South America.
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