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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Pea
| image = NCI peas in pod.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Peas are contained within a pod
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Fabaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Faboideae]]
| tribus = [[Vicieae]]
| genus = ''[[Pisum]]''
| species = '''''P. sativum'''''
| binomial = ''Pisum sativum''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

''For other uses and abbreviations, click [[PEA|here]]''


A '''pea''', although treated as a [[vegetable]] in cooking, is botanically a [[fruit]]; the term is most commonly used to describe the small spherical seeds or the pods of the legume '''''Pisum sativum'''''.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary - Pea</ref> The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the [[Fabaceae]] like the [[pigeon pea]] (''Cajanus cajan''), the [[cowpea]] (''Vigna unguiculata'') and the seeds from several species of ''[[Lathyrus]]''.

''P. sativum'' is an [[annual plant]], with a [[biological life cycle|lifecycle]] of one year. It is a cool season crop, planted in winter. The average pea weighs between 0.1 and 0.36 grams.<ref>[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropfactsheets/pea.html]</ref> The species is as a fresh vegetable, but is also grown to produce dry peas like the [[split pea]]. These varieties are typically called '''field peas'''.

''P. sativum'' has been cultivated for thousands of years. The sites of cultivation have been described in southern [[Syria]] and southeastern [[Turkey]], and some argue that the cultivation of peas with wheat and barley seems to be associated with the spread of Neolithic agriculture into Europe.<ref>Zohary, Daniel and Hopf, Maria (2000). ''Domestication of Plants in the Old World'', third edition. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 0-19-850356-3 p. 106</ref>

==Description==
[[Image:Doperwt rijserwt peulen Pisum sativum.jpg|right|thumb|Pea plant]]
It is a cool-season vegetable crop. The seeds may be planted as soon as the soil temperature reaches 10 °C, with the plants growing best at temperatures of 13 °C to 18 °C. They do not thrive in the summer heat of warmer temperate and lowland tropical climates, but do grow well in cooler high altitude tropical areas. Many cultivars reach maturity about 60 days after planting. Peas grow best in slightly acid, well-drained soils.

Peas have both low-growing and [[vine|vining]] cultivars. The vining cultivars grow thin [[tendril]]s from leaves that coil around any available support, and can climb to be 1-2 m high. A traditional approach to supporting climbing peas is to thrust branches pruned from [[tree]]s or other woody plants upright into the soil, providing a lattice for the peas to climb. Branches used in this fashion are called '''''pea brush'''''. Metal fences, twine, or netting supported by a frame, are used for the same purpose. In dense plantings, peas give each other some measure of mutual support.

==Varieties==
Several varieties of ''P. sativum'' have been bred. Widely cultivated examples include:
*''Pisum sativum'' var. ''macrocarpon'' is commonly known as the [[snow pea]]
*''Pisum sativum'' var. ''macrocarpon'' ser. cv. is known as the [[snap pea|sugar snap pea]]

==Diseases==
{{Main|List of pea diseases}}

==Ways of eating peas==
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Peas (fresh, green) | kJ=339 | protein=5.4 g | fat=0.4 g | carbs=14.5 g | fibre=5.1 g | sugars=5.7 g | vitC_mg=40 | source_usda=1 | right=1}}
In early times peas were grown mostly for their dry seeds. Along with [[broad beans]] and [[lentils]] these formed an important part of the diet of most people in Europe during the [[Middle Ages]] (Bianchini 1975 p 40). By the 1600s and 1700s it became popular to eat peas "green", that is, while they are immature and right after they are picked. This was especially true in [[France]] and [[England]], where the eating of green peas was said to be "both a fashion and a madness" (OSU 2006). New cultivars of peas were developed by the English during this time which beca
me known as "garden peas" and "English peas." The popularity of green peas spread to [[North America]]. [[Thomas Jefferson]] grew more than 30 cultivars of peas on his estate (Kafka 2005 p 297). With the invention of canning and freezing of foods, green peas became available year-round, not just in spring as before.

[[Image:FrostedPeas.jpg|right|thumb|Frozen green peas]]
Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavored with [[butter]] and/or [[spearmint]] as a side dish vegetable. Salt is also commonly added to peas when served. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Pod peas (particularly sweet cultivars called ''mangetout'' and ''sugar peas'', or the flatter "snow peas," called ''hé lán dòu'', [[wikt:荷|荷]][[wikt:兰|兰]][[wikt:豆|豆]] in Chinese) are used in stir-fried dishes, particularly those in [[American Chinese cuisine]].[http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/health/Food_Guide/Snow_Peas.htm] Pea pods do not keep well once picked, and if not used quickly are best preserved by drying, [[canning]] or [[freezing]] within a few hours of harvest.

In [[India]], fresh peas are used in various dishes such as ''Aloo Matar'' (Potato with Peas), though they can be substituted with frozen peas as well. Peas are also eaten raw as they are sweet when fresh off the bush.

[[Image:Split pea.jpg|right|thumb|left|Dry, yellow [[split pea]]s]]

Dried peas are often made into a [[soup]] or simply eaten on their own. In Japan and other Southeast Asian countries including [[Thailand]], [[Taiwan]] and [[Malaysia]], the peas are roasted and salted, and eaten as [[snack]]s. In the UK, dried yellow split peas are used to make [[pease pudding]] (or "pease porridge"), a traditional dish. In North America a similarly traditional dish is [[pea soup|split pea soup]].

In [[Chinese cuisine]], '''pea sprouts''' (豆苗 ''dòu miáo'') are commonly used in stir-fries and its price is relatively high due to its agreeable taste.

In the [[United Kingdom]], dried, rehydrated and mashed marrowfat peas, known by the public as [[mushy peas]], are popular, originally in the north of [[England]] but now ubiquitously, and especially as an accompaniment to [[fish and chips]] or meat pies, particular in fish and chip shops. [[Sodium bicarbonate]] is sometimes added to soften the peas. In 2005, a poll of 2,000 people revealed the pea to be Britain's 7th favorite culinary vegetable.
Processed peas are mature peas which have been dried, soaked and then heat treated (processed) to prevent spoilage — in the same manner as pasteurising.
[[Image:Canada-wasabi-green-peas.jpg|right|thumb|Canadian wasabi peas.]]
Cooked peas are sometimes sold dried and coated with [[wasabi]] as a spicy snack.

Some forms of [[etiquette]] require that peas be only eaten with a [[fork]] and not pushed onto the fork with a [[knife]] [http://www3.uakron.edu/ascareer/businessetiquette.html][http://www.askmen.com/money/successful/success7.html].

==Peas in science==
[[Image:Snow pea flowers.jpg|left|thumb|Pea flowers]]

In the mid-1800s, [[Gregor Mendel]]'s observations of pea pods led to the principles of [[Mendelian genetics]], the foundation of modern [[genetics]].

== Etymology ==
According to [[etymology|etymologists]], the term was taken from the [[Latin]] ''pisum'' and adopted into [[English language|English]] as the [[mass noun]] ''pease'', as in [[pease pudding]]. However, by analogy with other plurals ending in ''-s'', speakers began construing ''pease'' as a [[plural]] and constructing the singular form by dropping the "s", giving the term "pea". This process is known as [[back-formation]].

The name ''marrowfat pea'' for mature dried peas is recorded by the [[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]] as early as [[1733]]. The fact that an export cultivar popular in Japan is called ''Maro'' has led some people to assume mistakenly that the English name ''marrowfat'' is derived from [[Japanese language|Japanese]].

== Peas in Pop Culture ==

A fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, [[The Princess and the Pea]], tells of a young princess with such delicate skin that she complained
about feeling a single pea underneath numerous [[mattress|mattresses]].

==See also==
* [[Black pea]]
* [[Split pea]]
* [[Sugar snap pea]]
* [[Yellow pea]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*Bianchini, F. & Corbetta, F., 1976, ''The Complete Book of Fruits and Vegetables''. New York : Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-517-52033-8.
*European Association for Grain Legume Research (AEP). ''Pea''. [http://www.grainlegumes.com/default.asp?id_biblio=52].
*Hernández Bermejo, J. E. & León, J., (1992). ''Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective'', Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)[http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0646e/T0646E00.HTM]
*Kafka, B., 2005, ''Vegetable Love'', New York : Artisan, ISBN 978-1-57965-168-8
*Muehlbauer, F. J. and Tullu, A., (1997). ''Pisum sativum L.'' Purdue University[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropfactsheets/pea.html].
*Oelke, E. A., Oplinger E. S., et al. (1991). ''Dry Field Pea''. University of Wisconsin[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/drypea.html].
*Oregon State University (OSU). (2006). ''Green Peas, Garden Peas, Peas''. [http://food.oregonstate.edu/v/peas.html].

==External links==
{{commons|Pisum sativum}}
{{Cookbook|Pea}}
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Pisum.html Sorting Pisum names]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PISA6 USDA plant profile]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/drypea.html Alternative Field Crops Manual: Dry Field Pea]

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[[Category:Edible legumes| ]]
[[Category:Faboideae]]
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