Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Botanical Name of Pea Plant and Scientific Classification

share icon
share icon
banner

Scientific name of pea and its family Fabaceae

The tiny spherical seed or seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum is known as the pea. The botanical name of pea plant is referred to as Pisum sativum   Peas may be green or yellow, and each pod contains many peas. Peapods are called fruit by botanists since they contain seeds and grow from the ovary of a (pea) flower. 


Pisum sativum is an annual plant that has a one-year life cycle. It's a cool-season crop that's grown all over the world; depending on where you live, you can plant it anywhere from winter to early summer. A pea weighs between 0.1 and 0.36 grams on average. Immature peas (and the tender pod in snow peas) are used as a vegetable, fresh, frozen, or canned; varieties of the species generally known as field peas are grown to produce dry peas shelled from a matured pod. These are the ingredients in pease porridge and pea soup, which were staples of medieval cuisine; in Europe, eating new immature green peas was an early modern culinary invention.


What is the Scientific Name of Pea Plant?

The scientific name of pea plant, biological name of pea is referred to as Pisum Sativum.


Description of Pea

A pea is a pod-shaped vegetable that is usually green but may also be golden yellow or purple. It is widely grown as a cool-season vegetable crop. The seeds can be planted as soon as the soil temperature exceeds 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), with the plants growing best at temperatures of 13 to 18 degrees Celsius (55 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit). Around 60 days after planting, several cultivars attain maturity. Low-growing and vining cultivars of peas are available. Vining cultivars develop thin tendrils from their leaves that coil around any available support and can reach a height of 1–2 meters. Climbing peas are usually supported by thrusting upright branches pruned from trees or other woody plants into the soil, forming a lattice for the peas to ascend. The botanical name of the pea plant is referred to as Pisum sativum. Pea sticks or pea brushes are the terms for the branches used in this fashion. For the same reason, metal fences, twine, or netting supported by a frame are used. Peas owe each other some measure of mutual support in dense plantings. Self-pollination is possible in pea plants.


The Botanical Name of Sweet Peas

Sweet peas have been cultivated since the 17th century, and there is a wide range of cultivars available commercially. They are grown for the colour of their flowers (which are usually pastel shades of blue, pink, purple, and white) as well as their intense, distinct fragrance. Gardeners cultivate them for personal enjoyment or show, and florists use them in their work. In the spring or autumn, the big, pea-shaped seeds are sown in cold frames. Pre-soaking or chipping the seeds with a sharp blade is helpful. Later in the season, the plants are also available as young plants or plugs. They're grown-up canes with fresh shoots pinched out regularly to foster a bushy habit and higher flower yields. Sweet peas are inedible due to the poisonous seeds. Sweet peas, on the other hand, make lovely flowers for a garden. Except for yellow, the distinctive flowers bear blossoms in a variety of colours. Sweet pea plants come in several sizes, with some having long vines that climb up trellises and poles. Cut flowers are made from the flowers of wine-type sweet pea plants, and bush sweet pea plants have short stalks and do well in flower beds and containers. The botanical name of sweet pea is known as Lathyrus odoratus.


Uses of Peas

Domestic Use:

As a side dish vegetable, fresh peas are commonly boiled and flavoured with butter and/or spearmint. When serving peas, salt and pepper are often used. Fresh peas can also be used in casseroles, salads, and pot pies. Pod peas (also known as snow peas or snap peas) are commonly used in stir-fried dishes, particularly in American Chinese cuisine. Peapods do not hold well once picked, and if not used right away, they should be dried, canned, or frozen within a few hours of harvest.


Fresh peas are widely used in Indian dishes such as aloo matar (curried potatoes with peas) and matar paneer (paneer cheese with peas), though frozen peas may also be used. Peas may also be eaten raw because they are sweet when picked straight from the forest. 


 Northern Europe, portions of Middle Europe, Russia, Iran, Iraq, and India are among the countries that consume pea soup. It's known as ärtsoppa in Sweden, and it's a traditional Swedish dish. This food was made from a pea that grew rapidly and matured in a short period of time


Medical Use: 

Some people are allergic to peas and lentils, with vicilin or convicilin being the most common allergens.

Jews, other Middle Eastern Semitic peoples, and other descendants of the Mediterranean coastal regions are affected by Favism, or Fava-bean-ism, a hereditary deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Hemolytic anaemia is the toxic reaction to consuming most, if not all, beans in this state, and the released circulating free haemoglobin cause acute kidney injury in extreme cases.

Want to read offline? download full PDF here
Download full PDF
Is this page helpful?
like-imagedislike-image

FAQs on Botanical Name of Pea Plant and Scientific Classification

1. What is the botanical name of pea?

The botanical name of pea is Pisum sativum. It is a flowering plant belonging to the family Fabaceae (legume family). Pea is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop for its edible seeds and pods and is an important example used in genetics and plant biology studies.

2. To which family does the pea plant belong?

The pea plant belongs to the Fabaceae family, also known as the Leguminosae family. Key characteristics of this family include:

  • Presence of legume-type fruits (pods)
  • Root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria
  • Compound leaves, often with tendrils

Pea shares these features with other legumes like beans, lentils, and chickpeas.

3. What is the common name and scientific name of pea?

The common name is pea, and its scientific name is Pisum sativum. In biological classification:

  • Genus: Pisum
  • Species: sativum

The scientific name follows the binomial nomenclature system introduced by Carl Linnaeus.

4. What is the genus and species of pea?

The genus of pea is Pisum, and the species is sativum. Together, they form the binomial name Pisum sativum. The genus groups closely related plants, while the species name identifies the specific cultivated pea commonly used as a food crop.

5. Why is Pisum sativum important in biology?

Pisum sativum is important in biology because it was used by Gregor Mendel to discover the basic principles of inheritance. Its importance includes:

  • Clear contrasting traits (e.g., tall vs dwarf plants)
  • Short life cycle
  • Easy self- and cross-pollination

These features made pea plants ideal for studying Mendelian genetics.

6. What type of plant is Pisum sativum?

Pisum sativum is an annual herbaceous flowering plant. Its main characteristics include:

  • Soft green stem with climbing tendrils
  • Compound leaves
  • Fruit in the form of a pod (legume)

It completes its life cycle—from seed to seed—within one growing season.

7. What is the fruit type of pea plant?

The fruit of the pea plant is a legume, commonly called a pod. A legume is:

  • A dry, dehiscent fruit
  • Developed from a single carpel
  • Splits open along two sutures when mature

The seeds inside the pod are the edible peas commonly consumed as vegetables.

8. Is Pisum sativum a dicot or monocot?

Pisum sativum is a dicotyledonous (dicot) plant. It shows typical dicot features such as:

  • Two cotyledons in the seed
  • Reticulate (net-like) leaf venation
  • Tap root system

These traits distinguish it from monocot plants like grasses.

9. What is the kingdom and division of pea plant?

The pea plant belongs to the Kingdom Plantae and the Division Magnoliophyta (angiosperms). Its classification includes:

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
  • Class: Magnoliopsida (dicots)

As an angiosperm, pea produces flowers and seeds enclosed within a fruit.

10. What are the main characteristics of Pisum sativum?

The main characteristics of Pisum sativum include being a dicot leguminous plant with nitrogen-fixing ability. Key features are:

  • Presence of root nodules containing Rhizobium bacteria
  • Compound leaves modified into tendrils
  • Bisexual flowers with papilionaceous corolla
  • Fruit as a legume (pod)

These characteristics make pea a classic example of the legume family in plant biology.