The snow pea is an edible-pod pea with flat pods and thin pod walls, in contrast to snap pea pods, which are round with thick walls. It is eaten whole, with both the

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

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 called ''mangetout'' in the

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and

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(from the French for "eat-all" and pronounced monge-too; ). Snow peas and snap peas both belong to Macrocarpon Group, a cultivar group 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 (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

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

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n scientist and monk Gregor Mendel 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.

Composition

Nutrition

Uses

Culinary

Snow peas, along with snap peas and unlike field and garden peas, 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) in the pod walls. Snow peas have the thinner walls of the two edible pod variants. Two recessive

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s known as ''p'' and ''v'' are responsible for this trait. ''p'' is responsible for reducing the sclerenchymatous membrane on the inner pod wall, while ''v'' reduces pod wall thickness (''n'' is a gene that thickens pod walls in snap peas). Pea shoots ( zh, p=dòu miáo, s=豆苗) are the stems and leaves of the immature plant, used as a vegetable in Chinese cooking. They are commonly stir-fried with garlic and sometimes combined with crab or other shellfish.

Nitrogen fixers

As with most legumes, snow peas host beneficial bacteria, rhizobia, in their root nodules, which fix nitrogen in the soil—this is called a mutualistic relationship—and are therefore a useful companion plant, especially useful to grow intercropped with green, leafy vegetables that benefit from high nitrogen content in their soil.

Cultivation

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

Storage

Storage of the pea with films of polymethylpentene at a temperature of and controlled atmosphere with a concentration of oxygen and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

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

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1422840 Fabeae Edible legumes Pod vegetables Nitrogen-fixing crops