The snow pea is an

edible-pod 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 ...

with flat pods and thin pod walls. It is eaten whole, with both the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s and the pod, while still unripened.

Names

The common name snow pea seems to be a misnomer as the planting season of this pea is no earlier than that of other peas. Another common name Chinese pea is probably related to its prominence in Chinese dishes served in the West. It is often called ''mangetout'' ("eat-all") in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

, but this can apply both to snow peas and to snap peas. Snow peas and snap peas both belong to Macrocarpon Group, a

cultivar group A Group (previously cultivar-groupInternational Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 4th edition (1969), 5th edition (1980) and 6th edition (1995)) is a formal category in the '' International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants'' (' ...

based on the variety ''Pisum sativum'' var. ''macrocarpum'' Ser. named in 1825. It was described as having very compressed non-leathery edible pods in the original publication. The

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''Pisum sativum'' var. ''saccharatum'' Ser. is often misused for snow peas. The variety under this name was described as having sub-leathery and compressed-

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is u ...

pods and the French name ''petit pois''. The description is inconsistent with the appearance of snow peas, and therefore botanists have replaced this name with ''Pisum sativum'' var. ''macrocarpum.''

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n scientist and monk

Gregor Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was ...

used peas which he called ''Pisum saccharatum'' in his famous experiments demonstrating the heritable nature of specific traits, and this Latin name might not refer to the same varieties identified with modern snow peas.

As food

Snow peas, along with sugar snap peas and unlike field and garden

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 ...

s, are notable for having edible pods that lack inedible fiber (in the form of "parchment", a fibrous layer found in the inner pod rich in

lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity a ...

) in the pod walls. Snow peas have the thinner walls of the two edible pod variants. Two

recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant ( allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant an ...

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

s known as ''p'' and ''v'' are responsible for this trait. ''p'' is responsible for reducing the

sclerenchymatous The ground tissue of plants includes all tissues that are neither dermal nor vascular. It can be divided into three types based on the nature of the cell walls. # Parenchyma cells have thin primary walls and usually remain alive after they bec ...

membrane on the inner pod wall, while ''v'' reduces pod wall thickness (''n'' is a gene that thickens pod walls in snap peas). The stems and leaves of the immature plant are used as a vegetable in Chinese cooking, stir-fried with garlic and sometimes combined with crab or other shellfish.

As nitrogen fixers

As with most legumes, snow peas host beneficial bacteria,

rhizobia Rhizobia are diazotrophic bacteria that fix nitrogen after becoming established inside the root nodules of legumes (Fabaceae). To express genes for nitrogen fixation, rhizobia require a plant host; they cannot independently fix nitrogen. In g ...

, in their root nodules, which fix nitrogen in the soil—this is called a mutualistic relationship—and are therefore a useful

companion plant Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, and ...

, especially useful to grow

intercrop Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves growing two or more crops in proximity. In other words, intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. The most common goal of intercropping is ...

ped with green, leafy vegetables that benefit from high nitrogen content in their soil.

Cultivation and storage

Snow peas can be grown in open fields during cool seasons and can thus be cultivated during

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

and

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

seasons. Storage of the pea with films of polymethylpentene at a temperature of 5 °C and a concentration of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

of 5 kPa augments the shelf life, internal and external characteristics of the plant.

Gallery

File:Snow pea flowers.jpg, Snow pea flowers File:Sautéed snow pea shoots, Mayflower Restaurant.jpg, Sautéed snow pea shoots, a popular dish in Chinese cuisine

References