Scientific name: cowpea. ) English name: Cowpea.

Family name: Leguminosae, Leguminosae

Annual twining herbs, glabrous. Leaflets 3, terminal lobules rhombic, 5- 13 cm long and 4-7 cm wide, with sharp tips, nearly round or wide wedge-shaped base, glabrous on both sides, and oblique elliptic lateral lobules; Stipules are ovoid, about 65438 0 cm long, with a short distance from the planting place. Racemes axillary; Calyx campanulate, glabrous; Corolla lavender, about 2 cm long, with yellowish whiskers on the upper part of the style. The pods droop linearly, up to 40 cm long. The flowering and fruiting period is from June to September.

It is widely planted all over the country.

There are many varieties of cowpea used as vegetables, which are divided into white skin, green skin, flower skin and red skin according to the color of pods. According to the different reactions of varieties to day-length, the varieties insensitive to day-length are red-billed swallow, while the varieties sensitive to day-length are taro from Shanghai and Yangzhou. Medicinal seeds can strengthen stomach, invigorate qi, nourish and promote digestion.