Tropical woody herb with showy yellow flowers and flat pods; much cultivated in the tropics; SYN. pigeon-pea plant, cajan pea, catjang pea, red gram, dhal, dahl, Cajanus cajan.
Woody, perennial legume Cajanus cajan, grown as a crop in many parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It constitutes about 5% of world legume production (3.5 million hectares). Pigeon peas have a growing season of 6–9 months and are either harvested dry and used mainly in dahl soup, or harvested earlier and eaten as a green vegetable. They are highly nutritious containing up to 28% protein, and 10 times more fat, 5 times more vitamin A, and 3 times more vitamin C than ordinary peas. Cultivating pigeon pea also replenishes the soil with nitrates.