Snap pea

The snap pea, also known as the sugar snap pea, is an edible-pod pea with rounded pods and thick pod walls, in contrast to snow pea pods, which are flat with thin walls.[1] The name mangetout (French for “eat all”) can apply to snap peas and snow peas.

A snap pea named “butter pea” was described in French literature in the 19th century, but the old snap pea was lost in cultivation by the mid-20th century. The present snap pea originated from Dr. Calvin Lamborn’s cross between a shelling pea mutant found in 1952 by Dr. M.C. Parker and a snow pea cultivar. Researchers at Twin Falls, Idaho hoped that the cross might counteract twisting and buckling seen in varieties at the time. With this cross, snap pea was recreated and the first new snap pea was released in 1979 under the name ‘Sugar Snap’.[1][2][3]

Snap peas, like all other peas, are pod fruits. An edible-podded pea is similar to a garden, or English, pea, but the pod is less fibrous, and is edible when young. Pods of the edible-podded pea, including snap peas, do not have a membrane and do not open when ripe. At maturity, the pods grow to around 4 to 8 centimetres (1 1⁄2 to 3 inches) in length. Pods contain three to eight peas. The plants are climbing, and pea sticks or a trellis or other support system is required for optimal growth. Some cultivars are capable of climbing to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high but plants are more commonly around 1 to 1.3 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 3 in) high, for ease of harvest and cultivation.