About Pisum sativum

Pea (Pisum sativum L., 2n = 14) is the second most important grain legume in the world after common bean and is an important green vegetable with 14.3 t of dry pea and 19.9 t of green pea produced in 2016. Pea belongs to the Leguminosae (or Fabaceae), which includes cool season grain legumes from the Galegoid clade, such as pea, lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and tropical grain legumes from the Milletoid clade, such as common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek). It provides significant ecosystem services: it is a valuable source of dietary proteins, mineral nutrients, complex starch and fibers with demonstrated health benefits and its symbiosis with N-fixing soil bacteria reduces the need for applied N fertilizers so mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Pea was domesticated ~10,000 years ago by Neolithic farmers of the Fertile Crescent, along with cereals and other grain legumes8. The large reservoir of genetic diversity in Pisum has facilitated its spread throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania where it has adapted to diverse environments and culinary practices.

Taxonomy ID 3888

Data source Genoscope

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