cowpea

cowpea
    n 1: fruit or seed of the cowpea plant [syn: {cowpea}, {black-
         eyed pea}]
    2: sprawling Old World annual cultivated especially in southern
       United States for food and forage and green manure [syn:
       {cowpea}, {cowpea plant}, {black-eyed pea}, {Vigna
       unguiculata}, {Vigna sinensis}]
    3: eaten fresh as shell beans or dried [syn: {black-eyed pea},
       {cowpea}]
    

Cowpea \Cow"pea`\ (kou"p[=e]`), n.
   1. The seed of one or more leguminous plants of the genus
      {Dolichos}; also, the plant itself. Many varieties are
      cultivated in the southern part of the United States.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Bot.) A leguminous plant ({Vigna Sinensis}, syn. {Vigna
      Catjang}) found throughout the tropics of the Old World.
      It is extensively cultivated in the Southern United States
      for fodder, and the seed is used as food for man.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]