Pea
Pisum sativum · Legume family
Plant portrait
Compound leaves and tendrils accompany the stems of garden peas. After flowering, pods fill with rounded seeds; varieties differ in size and growth habit.
Harvested part
The seeds of the shelling varieties illustrated here.
What to watch for
Distinguish flat young pods from those in which peas become visible. For shelling varieties, watch the pods fill; mangetout peas are harvested for a different use.
Growth stages of the pea
Plotilo illustrates the pea in 7 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing, flowering, developing fruit and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.
- Seed
Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.
- Small sprout
A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.
- Young plant
The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.
- Growing
Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.
- Flowering
Flowers are shown before fruit begins to form.
- Developing fruit
Fruit begins to develop on the plant.
- Harvest
An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.
Same botanical family
Same botanical family as the pea (the legume family): the green bean, the broad bean, the American groundnut, the Lima bean, the runner bean and the yardlong bean. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.