Cowpea is cowpea, not short for cowpea.
Cowpea, also known as China bean or black-eyed pea, is a bean. Cultivated form of Vigna unguiculata, an annual plant of Leguminosae. It is believed to be native to India and the Middle East, but it was cultivated in China very early. Compound leaves, 3 leaflets. Flowers are white, purple or light yellow, and are often born in pairs or in threes at the ends of slender stalks. Pods are long and cylindrical. The pod length of V.u. catjang is 7.5? 12.5cm (3? 5 inches). The pod length of V.u. sinensis is 20? 30 centimeters. Cowpea is widely cultivated as hay crop, green manure crop or edible pod in the southern United States.
There are many varieties of cowpea used as vegetables, which are divided into white-skinned, green-skinned, flowered-skinned and red-skinned according to the different colors of pods. According to the different responses of each variety to the length of light, the varieties that are insensitive to the length of light are red-billed swallow, while those that are sensitive to the length of light are taro in Shanghai and Yangzhou. Seeds used as medicine can strengthen stomach, invigorate qi, nourish and promote digestion.