The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the fabaceae such as the pigeon pea (cajanus cajan), the cowpea (vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from several species of lathyrus.
The average pea weighs between 0.1 and 0.36 gram.the immature peas (and in snow peas the tender pod as well) are used as a vegetable, fresh, frozen or canned; varieties of the species typically called field peas are grown to produce dry peas like the split pea shelled from the matured pod. These are the basis of pease porridge and pea soup, staples of medieval cuisine; in europe, consuming fresh immature green peas was an innovation of early modern cuisine.