Pisum sativum

Pisum sativum (guisante de jardín) — uno de los cultivos más antiguos y la planta que Mendel utilizó para sentar las bases de la genética. Tipos de desgrane, mangetout y tirabeque en nuestra colección de guisantes.

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Pisum sativum — the garden pea

Pisum sativum is the botanical name for the garden pea, a cool-season climbing legume and one of the oldest crops in cultivation. Sweet and tender, it is the species behind our whole pea range within the peas and beans collection.

History & origin

The pea is among the very first plants humans ever farmed, domesticated in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean around 10,000 years ago, at the dawn of agriculture itself. For most of history peas were grown to be dried and stored as a winter staple; the fashion for eating sweet, fresh green peas only took hold in Europe a few centuries ago.

The pea also holds a special place in science: in the 1860s the monk Gregor Mendel used Pisum sativum in his garden experiments to work out the basic laws of inheritance, founding the study of genetics. Its name is simply the classical Latin pisum (pea) with sativum, “cultivated.”

Botanical characteristics

A climbing annual that clings by tendrils, the pea fixes its own nitrogen as a legume and so needs little feeding. There are three main kinds: shelling peas, podded for the sweet peas inside; mangetout, eaten flat and whole; and sugarsnaps, eaten whole when plump. Most appreciate twiggy support like their cousins the climbing beans, while dwarf types are quick enough to feature among our fast-growing vegetables.

Growing Pisum sativum from seed

Peas love cool weather, so they are among the first crops sown each year — from early spring, with hardy types even sown in autumn. Sow direct into cool, moist soil, give support early, and pick often once the pods fill to keep the plants productive. Sown thickly, peas also give sweet, tender shoots for salads in just weeks. Our vegetable sowing calendar shows the windows and our soil guide helps you prepare the bed.

Ready to grow peas? Browse the varieties or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Peas · Peas & Beans · Climbing Beans · Bush Beans · Fast-Growing Veg

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pisum sativum?
It is the botanical name for the garden pea, a cool-season climbing legume.

Where do peas originate?
From the Fertile Crescent of the Near East and Mediterranean, farmed around 10,000 years ago.

Why is the pea famous in science?
Gregor Mendel used it in the 1860s to discover the basic laws of inheritance, founding genetics.

What are the types of pea?
Shelling peas for podding, mangetout eaten flat and whole, and sugarsnaps eaten whole when plump.

When do I sow peas?
Early — they like cool weather, so sow from early spring, with some hardy types sown in autumn.