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The cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is one of several species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna. Four cultivated subspecies are recognised:
- V. unguiculata ssp. cylindrica Catjang
- V. unguiculata ssp. dekindtiana Black-eyed pea
- V. unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis Yardlong bean
- V. unguiculata ssp. unguiculata Southern pea
Nowadays, these beans are most commonly grown in West Africa. Archaeologically, finds are first attested in Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC; also Greek and Roman records point to a kind of bean which is not the broad bean Vicia faba, and was called phaseolus. These were grown in Europe until the end of the Middle Ages, when very similar, but more robust species introduced from America replaced them. The name Phaseolus, however, was transferred to the new species and entered botanic nomenclature as a genus name, while the cowpea became Vigna unguiculata.
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