Pigeon pea seed
LATIN NAME: Cajanus cajan
COMMON NAME: Pigeon Pea
The pigeon pea is the hardy pulse of the warm field, and the small, yellow and red flowers hide among the fine leaves. The upright, woody-based, short-lived perennial shrub carries the pinnate leaves of the three narrow leaflets and the small, yellow and red, pea-like flowers in the axillary racemes through the warm season, to be followed by the narrow, beaked pods of the small, round seeds. The seeds have a long record as the staple pulse of the warm lands, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the warm field. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The pigeon pea is a historic subject of the plant science, and the yellow and red flowers keep showing up in the work on the warm pulses. The breeding of the pigeon peas for the yield and the drought tolerance has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the pulse genetics, the hardy legumes and the members of the pea family. The pinnate leaves and the upright, woody-based habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the pigeon pea is a regular subject of the work on the hardy pulses of the warm world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The pigeon pea is a fine, historic plant of the warm field and the vegetable plot. The small, round seeds have a long record as the staple pulse of the warm lands, cooked into the dals and the stews of the warm kitchens, and the young pods come to the table as the fresh green peas. The plant feeds the soil with the nitrogen and stands the dry, warm ground with the ease, and it is one of the fine choices for the warm field, the vegetable garden and the soil-building planting. It has been written up in the agricultural and the culinary papers for the round seeds and the hardy ways, and it is a fine, historic plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.
Leave the last pods to dry on the bush and shell the round seeds out for the next sowing.
To grow the pigeon pea from seed, sow the large, round seeds a centimetre down in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then set the young plants out after the last frosts. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun, the warmth and the well-drained ground, the round seeds will come through the warm season.
Amazing shrub up to 2 m. Seeds eaten fresh or ground to flour.It has name Dhal in India. The flowers make this a pretty addition to a landscape, even if you don't plan on using the peas for food. Pods are similar to English peas: green and pointed with a bit of reddish mottling. Several pods are produced in clusters on an upright stem.
It is flavorful, and a single plant can produce more peas than a small family can eat.
Hardy legume, stock feed, poultry fodder, quick growing in windbreaks. Sow after frost.