Southern pea types, explained
Crowders, creams, black-eyes, pinkeyes and field peas.
Our reading written by Cowpea Seeds
Cowpea, southern pea, field pea and black-eyed pea are names for the same crop, Vigna unguiculata, and the types gardeners talk about are groupings within it. The sources sort them by seed and pod: Oklahoma says a crowder's seeds are crowded in the pod so the ends are blunt, and Georgia says creams have white seed at maturity and are generally small, while blackeyed peas are generally white at maturity with black pigment around the point of attachment, with pinkeyes as a variation.
Clemson adds how they cook: field peas produce a dark liquid when cooked, crowders normally cook up dark, creams cook up light, and black-eyed peas are intermediate. Mississippi State adds lady peas, purple hulls and silver skins, and notes that older varieties tend to vine while newer ones are semi-vining to bush.
Our plain-language reading of the extension text quoted on this page. It adds no facts of its own.
One crop, many names
Cowpeas, field peas, black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, and crowder peas are all different names referring to Southern peas.
Southern peas, black-eyed peas and field peas are all names for the crop known worldwide as cowpeas ( Vigna unguiculata ssp. unguiculata ).
Clemson's four types
Field Pea: Robust, viny type usually with smaller seeds that produce a dark liquid when cooked.
Crowder Pea: Starchy seeded types “crowded” into the pods, normally cooking up dark.
Cream Pea: Smaller plant type with light colored seeds that cook up light.
“Black-eyed” Pea: Intermediate in its plant type and seed cooking characteristics.
Seed and eye, per Georgia and Oklahoma
Crowder peas are generally brown in color and the shape distorted because of crowding in the pod. Creams have white seed at maturity and are generally small. Blackeyed peas are generally white at maturity with black pigment around the point of attachment in the pod, thus the name “blackeye.” A variation on the blackeye is the pinkeye type.
A crowder pea is one in which the seeds are crowded in the pod, causing seed to be blunt on the ends.
(4) eye color — varies from no color to pinkish, maroon eye to black eye; (5) seed type — crowder, semi-crowder and non-crowder.
More names from Mississippi State
Small-sized pea and pod types are referred to as lady peas. Other common types are crowders, creams, blackeyes, pinkeyes, purple hulls, and silver skins.
Older varieties have a tendency to make a vine; newer varieties are semi-vining to bush type.