From Old World to New World |
George Washington Carver minded his peas.
Black-eyed Pea
Vigna unguiculata unguiculata
Heritage
Black-eyed peas are an ancient African crop that spread
from central Africa. Around 1700, slaves
brought it to America. By
1903 George Washington Carver, the famous African-American agricultural
chemist, was promoting black-eyed peas as excellent food for man or beast
and as a plant that enriched farm soil with nitrogen.
Present Use
Today black-eyed peas are grown primarily as animal food and a cover crop to improve soil fertility. For Southerners, however, the new year starts with a bowl of black-eyed peas for good luck. Nigerians make a strong fiber from the seedpod hulls.
