Changes

*''Vigna sinensis'' (L.) Hassk. (1844).

– * Cowpea, black-eye bean, black-eye pea, China pea, marble pea (En). *Niébé, haricot à l’œil noir, pois yeux noirs, cornille, voème, haricot dolique, dolique mongette (Fr). *Caupi, feijão frade, feijão da China, feijão miúdo, feijão macundi, makunde (Po). *Mkunde (Sw).  * Yard-long bean, asparagus bean (En).*Haricot-kilomètre, dolique asperge (Fr).*Feijão de metro, feijão chicote, feijão espargo, feijão frade alfange (Po).

– * Catjang cowpea, Bombay cowpea (En). *Catjang (Fr).

*Climbing, trailing or more or less erect annual or perennial herb, cultivated as an annual; taproot well developed, with many lateral and adventitious roots; stem up to 4 m long, angular or nearly cylindrical, slightly ribbed. *Leaves alternate, 3-foliolate; stipules ovate, 0.5–2 cm long, spurred at base; petiole up to 15(–25) cm long, grooved above, swollen at base, rachis (0.5–)2.5–4.5(–6.5) cm long; stipels small; leaflets ovate or rhombic to lanceolate, (1.5–)7–14(–20) cm × (1–)4–10(–17) cm, basal ones asymmetrical, apical one symmetrical, entire, sometimes lobed, glabrous or slightly pubescent, 3-veined from the base. *Inflorescence an axillary or terminal false raceme up to 35 cm long, with flowers clustered near the top; rachis tuberculate. *Flowers bisexual, papilionaceous; pedicel 1–3 mm long, with spatulate, deciduous bracteoles; calyx campanulate, tube c. 5 mm long, lobes narrowly triangular, c. 5 mm long; corolla pink to purple, sometimes white or yellowish, standard very broadly obovate, hood-shaped, c. 2.5 cm long, wings obovate, c. 2 cm long, keel boat-shaped, c. 2 cm long; stamens 10, 9 fused and 1 free; ovary superior, c. 1.5 cm long, laterally compressed, style upturned, with fine hairs in upper part, stigma obliquely globular. *Fruit a linear-cylindrical pod 8–30(–120) cm long, straight or slightly curved, with a short beak, glabrous or slightly pubescent, pale brown when ripe, 8– 30-seeded. *Seeds oblong to almost globose, often laterally compressed, 0.5–1 cm long, black, brown, pink or white; hilum oblong, covered with a white tissue, with a blackish rim-like aril. *Seedling with epigeal germination; cotyledons oblong or sickle-shaped, thick; first two leaves simple and opposite, subsequent leaves alternate, 3-foliolate.

– * Unguiculata Group (common cowpea): pulse and vegetable types, grown for the dry or immature seeds, young pods or leaves; plant habit prostrate to erect, up to 80 cm tall, late flowering, pods 10–30 cm long, pendent, hard and firm, not inflated when young, many-seeded and seeds not spaced; most African cultivars belong to this group.

– * Sesquipedalis Group (yard-long bean, synonyms: ''Dolichos sesquipedalis'' L., ''Vigna sesquipedalis'' (L.) Fruhw.): grown for the young pods; plant climbing, stem up to 4 m long, pods 30–120 cm long, pendent, inflated when young, many-seeded and seed spaced; important vegetable in South-East Asia, but of minor importance in tropical Africa, where only cultivars introduced from Asia are grown.

– * Biflora Group (catjang cowpea): grown for the seeds, tender green pods and for fodder; plant habit prostrate to erect, up to 80 cm tall, early flowering, pods 7.5–12 cm long, erect or ascending, hard and firm, not inflated when young, few-seeded and seeds not spaced; important in India and South-East Asia, locally also in Africa (e.g. Ethiopia).

– * Melanophthalmus Group: originating from West Africa; plant able to flower quickly from the first nodes under inductive conditions, pods comparatively few-seeded, seed coat thin, often wrinkled, partly white.

– * Textilis Group: a small group only grown in Nigeria for the fibre extracted from the long peduncles; at the beginning of the 20^th century this group was distributed from the interior delta of the Niger river eastward to the Lake Chad basin, but it is gradually disappearing.

* R. Madamba, Department of Research & Specialist Services, Crop Breeding Institute, Box CY 550, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe

Department of Research & Specialist Services* G.J.H. Grubben, Crop Breeding InstituteBoeckweijdt Consult, Box CY 550Prins Hendriklaan 24, Causeway1401 AT Bussum, Harare, ZimbabweNetherlands

* GI.JK.HAsante, Department of Botany, University of Ghana, Legon, P. GrubbenO. Box LG55, Accra, Ghana

Boeckweijdt Consult, Prins Hendriklaan 24, 1401 AT Bussum, Netherlands * I.K. Asante Department of Botany, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box LG55, Accra, Ghana * R. Akromah , Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

Madamba, R., Grubben, G.J.H., Asante, I.K. & Akromah, R., 2006. '''Vigna unguiculata''' (L.) Walp. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. In: Brink, M. & Belay, G. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}.