pea

noun

• 1a spherical green seed that is widely eaten as a vegetable.
• [with modifier] used in names of edible spherical seeds of the pea family, e.g., chickpea and black-eyed pea.

• 2the hardy Eurasian climbing plant that yields pods containing these seeds.

  • Pisum sativum, family Leguminosae (or Fabaceae; the pea family). The members of this family (known as legumes) are sometimes divided among three smaller families: Papilionaceae (peas, beans, clovers, vetches, brooms, laburnums, etc.), Mimosaceae (mimosas, acacias), and Caesalpiniaceae (cassia, carob, and many tropical timber trees)