Fun Fact Friday September 1, 2023

Check Check Check it out. This week's Fun Fact is about Hairypod Cowpeas, Vigna lutea. This Florida Native plant is a wild looking vine that is found all over Central and South Florida.

Did you know that this native plant is edible? You may have guessed by the name Cowpea. But, common names are sometimes misleading. Partridge Pea is an example. Not edible even though the name says "Pea".

So what is edible on Hairypod Cowpeas? Flowers, seed pods, and seeds. Flowers can be eaten raw or boiled first. They taste like green beans. Seed pods and seeds should be boiled to soften them prior to eating. Some younger seed pods can be eaten raw prior to drying out on the vine.

What's cool about this plant is that it meets basically every great requirement that I look for in a plant.

• Florida native

• Edible

• Butterfly Host Plant for cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), dorantes longtail (Urbanus dorantes), gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus) butterflies

• Great Companion plant as it is a nitrogen fixer

• Can be grown as a perennial or a self reseeding annual depending on zone

• Require no maintenance and thrives on neglect

If you are falling in love with this plant too, check out our online store. We typically have at least a few of these in stock.

See you.........................