Snow pea

The snow pea is an edible-pod pea with flat pods and thin pod walls.[2] It is eaten whole, with both the seeds and the pod, while still unripe.

The common name snow pea seems to be a misnomer as the planting season of this pea is no earlier than that of other peas. Another common name Chinese pea is probably related to its prominence in Chinese dishes served in the West.[3] Its French name is pois mangetout (“eat-all pea”) but this can apply both to snow peas and to snap peas.[citation needed]

Snow peas and snap peas both belong to Macrocarpon Group,[3][4][1][5] a cultivar group based on the variety Pisum sativum var. macrocarpum Ser. named in 1825.[6] It was described as having very compressed non-leathery edible pods in the original publication.

The scientific name Pisum sativum var. saccharatum Ser. is often misused for snow peas. The variety under this name was described as having sub-leathery and compressed-terete pods and the French name petit pois.[6] The description is inconsistent with the appearance of snow peas, and therefore botanists have replace this name with Pisum sativum var. macrocarpum.[7] Austrian scientist and monk Gregor Mendel used peas which he called Pisum saccharatum in his famous experiments demonstrating the heritable nature of specific traits, and this Latin name might not refer to the same varieties identified with modern snow peas.[8]