Fabaceae
Vigna
Vigna unguiculata

Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata

This subspecies is accepted
The native range of this subspecies is Cape Verde, Tropical & S. Africa. It is a scrambling annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Cultivated
Morphology General Habit
Annual/Perennial, Climbing/Not climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Asparagus Bean, Augenbohne, Black Eye, Black-eyed Pea, Catjang, Cow Pea, Cowpea, Crowder Pea, Dolico Esparrago, Dolique, Fasolita, Feijao Frade, Haricot Dolique, Inek Nokhudu, Korovi Gorokh, Korovyachi Gorokh, Kuherbse, Lobiya, Long Bean, Lovia, Lubiyo, P
[ILDIS]

Seed Collecting Guide. RBG Kew (2013-2016)

Morphology General Habit
wild, or sometimes as a weed, usually Annual, (Perrenial in the Indian ocean coastal forest belt)
Morphology Stem
stem glabrous, scabrous when young, rarely with scattered pubescence
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Peduncles
peduncle 0.5-3 mm wide; rhachis 0.7-3 cm long, 4-8-noded, internodes 1-6 mm long, scabrous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
flower not scented, 15-23 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
calyx glabrous; lobes 1.5-4 mm long. keel with a short beak, slightly twisted towards the right (while looking at the keel from the standard)
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
ovary 16--18-ovuled
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
pod scabrous, less than 10 cm long and 5 mm wide.
Ecology
savanna, especially in disturbed areas, often as a weed. altitude0 - 1400 m
Distribution
Southern Africa Botswana; and Eastern Africa Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Conservation
least concerned
Phenology
Flower (september - april), fruit (november - may)
[SCG]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Morphology General Habit
Annual/Perennial, Climbing/Not climbing, Herb
Vernacular
Boemes, Catjang, Dolique Blanc, Dolique Noir, Dolique Pourpre, Horse Gram, Katchang, Lobia, Rawans, Rawas, Voeme
[ILDIS]

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods 7.5–20 x more than 0.5 cm wide.
[FSOM]

Uses

Use
Environmental, Food and Drink, Forage
[ILDIS]

Use
Food and Drink
[ILDIS]

Use
Cultivated for its edible seeds
[FSOM]

Common Names

unknown
black eye pea, ch'ih hsiao tou, ch'ik siu tau (Cant.), chit sew tow, cow pea, kidney bean, pai tou koh, pak tow hock

Sources

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Seed Collection Guides

    • Seed Collection Guides
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0