The differences between tank beans and cowpeas are appearance, flavor and texture, mode of consumption, and nutritional value.

1. Appearance: the tank bean is a long, straight legume, light green or yellowish green in color and slightly curved in shape. Cowpeas, on the other hand, are a long, slender and curved legume, usually green or purple in color.

2, flavor and texture: tank beans have a crispier texture and a light, somewhat sweet flavor. Cowpeas, on the other hand, are crisp and crunchy with a slightly nutty flavor.

3, the way to eat: tank beans are usually green vegetables are fried to eat, stewed soup and cold and other ways, but also can be fried into bean curd slices as an ingredient. Cowpeas, on the other hand, are often used as the main ingredient in stir-fry, and can also be pickled or used to make cowpea sauce.

4, nutritional value: although both are rich in protein, dietary fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals, but the tank beans contain more vitamin C and vitamin A, while cowpeas are rich in vitamin C and vitamin K.

Cowpea Morphological Characteristics

The annual twining, herbaceous vines or suberect herbaceous plants Cowpea is an annual, twining, herbaceous vine or suberect herb. Sometimes apically twining, stem subglabrous, pinnately compound with 3 leaflets; stipules lanceolate, ca. 1 cm, decurrent into a short spur where inserted, wired; leaflets ovate-rhombic, 5-15 cm long, 4-6 cm wide, apex acute, margins entire or subentire, sometimes lavender, glabrous.

Racemes axillary, long pedicellate; flowers 2-6 clustered at the top of the inflorescence, often with fleshy dense glands between the pedicels; calyx light green, campanulate, 6-10 mm long, cleft teeth lanceolate; corolla yellow-white and slightly cyanine-purple, ca. 2 cm long, each petal with petal stipe, the flag petal compressed-orbicular, ca. 2 cm wide, apical concave, slightly auricular at the base, the winged petals slightly triangular, keeled petals slightly curved.

Ovary linear, hairy, pods pendulous, erect or obliquely spreading, linear, 7.5-70 (90) cm long, 6-10 mm wide, slightly fleshy and swollen or solid, with many seeds; seeds long ellipsoid or terete or slightly reniform, 6-12 mm long, yellowish-white, dark-red, or other colors, flowering May-August.