Description
A pea is a most commonly green, occasionally purple or golden yellow, pod-shaped vegetable, widely grown as a cool season vegetable crop. The seeds may be planted as soon as the soil temperature reaches 10 °C (50 °F), with the plants growing best at temperatures of 13 to 18 °C (55 to 64 °F). They do not thrive in the summer heat of warmer temperate and lowland tropical climates, but do grow well in cooler, high altitude, tropical areas. Many cultivars reach maturity about 60 days after planting.
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 339 kJ (81 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 14.5 g |
| - Sugars | 5.7 g |
| - Dietary fibre | 5.1 g |
| Fat | 0.4 g |
| Protein | 5.4 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 38 μg (5%) |
| - beta-carotene | 449 μg (4%) |
| - lutein and zeaxanthin | 2593 μg |
| Thiamine (vit. B1) | 0.3 mg (26%) |
| Riboflavin (vit. B2) | 0.1 mg (8%) |
| Niacin (vit. B3) | 2.1 mg (14%) |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.1 mg (2%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.2 mg (15%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 65 μg (16%) |
| Vitamin C | 40.0 mg (48%) |
| Calcium | 25.0 mg (3%) |
| Iron | 1.5 mg (12%) |
| Magnesium | 33.0 mg (9%) |
| Phosphorus | 108 mg (15%) |
| Potassium | 244 mg (5%) |
| Zinc | 1.2 mg (13%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. |
|
Peas have both low-growing and vining cultivars. The vining cultivars grow thin tendrils from leaves that coil around any available support and can climb to be 1–2 m high. A traditional approach to supporting climbing peas is to thrust branches pruned from trees or other woody plants upright into the soil, providing a lattice for the peas to climb. Branches used in this fashion are sometimes called pea brush. Metal fences, twine, or netting supported by a frame are used for the same purpose. In dense plantings, peas give each other some measure of mutual support. Pea plants can self-pollinate.
Read more about this topic: Pea
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“He hath achieved a maid
That paragons description and wild fame;
One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I fancy it must be the quantity of animal food eaten by the English which renders their character insusceptible of civilisation. I suspect it is in their kitchens and not in their churches that their reformation must be worked, and that Missionaries of that description from [France] would avail more than those who should endeavor to tame them by precepts of religion or philosophy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“It [Egypt] has more wonders in it than any other country in the world and provides more works that defy description than any other place.”
—Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)