''Pisum'' is a genus of
flowering plants
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family
, native to southwest
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and northeast
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It contains one to five species, depending on taxonomic interpretation; the International Legume Database (ILDIS) accepts three species, one with two subspecies:
*''
Pisum abyssinicum'' (
syn.
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...
''P. sativum'' subsp. ''abyssinicum'')
*''
Pisum fulvum''
*''
Pisum sativum'' - pea
**''Pisum sativum'' subsp. ''elatius'' (syn. ''P. elatius'', ''P. syriacum'')
**''Pisum sativum'' subsp. ''sativum''
''Pisum sativum'' (the field or garden pea) is a major human food crop (see
pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
and
split pea
Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of ''Pisum sativum'', the pea.
Harvesting
The peas are spherical when harvested, with an outer skin. The peas are dried and the dull-coloure ...
).
''Pisum'' species are used as food plants by the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e of some
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
species including ''
Bucculatrix pyrivorella'',
cabbage moth
The cabbage moth (''Mamestra brassicae'') is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, ...
,
common swift
The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between th ...
,
ghost moth, ''
Hypercompe indecisa'',
the nutmeg,
setaceous Hebrew character and
turnip moth.
The ''Pisum sativum'' flower has 5 sepals (fused), 5 petals, 10 stamens (9 fused in a staminal tube and 1 stamen is free) and 1 subsessil
carpel.
Etymology
‘Pisum’ is the ancient
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name for the pea.
[Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 304]
References
Fabeae
Fabaceae genera
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