The black-eyed pea, also called black-eyed bean, blackeye, field peas, lobiya, rongi or chawli, is a subspecies of the cowpea, grown for its medium-sized edible bean, which mutates easily giving rise to a number of varieties, the common commercial one called the California Blackeye being pale-colored with a prominent black spot. The currently accepted botanical name is Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata, although previously it was classified in the genus Phaseolus. Vigna unguiculata subsp. dekindtiana is the wild relative and Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis is the related asparagus bean. Other beans of somewhat similar appearance, such as the "Frijol ojo de cabra" ("Goat's eye bean") of Northern Mexico are sometimes incorrectly called "black eyed peas" and vice versa.
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