Cajanus cajan

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NAME:   Cajanus cajan 

FAMILY: Fabaceae/ Leguminosae.

COMMON NAMES:  Red gram, congo pea, gungo pea, and no-eye pe

LOCAL NAMES: Otili, Orela, Tur, Arhar, Adhaki

MORPHOLOLIGAL DESCRIPTION: Pigeon pea is a short-lived, erect, growing legume plant about 4m tall with erect ribbed, densely pubescent stems

USEFUL PART(s): Seed, leaves, shoot

GENERAL USES:

  • Pigeon peas are edible seed, the young shoots and leaves can also be cooked and eaten

  • Pigeon peas are also use for medicinal purposes

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

India, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda

WHY IS IT GREEN?

Cajanus cajan medicinal values include

  • Smallpox,

  • chickenpox,

  • diuretic,

  • laxative,

  • haemostatic,

  • astringent,

  • measles,

  • mouth wash.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

FUN FACT

  • Pigeon pea was domesticated in India 3,500 years ago.

FURTHER READINGS

Duker-Eshun, G., Jaroszewski, J. W., Asomaning, W. A., Oppong-Boachie, F., & Christensen, S. B. (2004). Antiplasmodial Constituents of Cajanus cajan. Phytotherapy Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.1375

Oshodi, A. A., & Ekperigin, M. M. (1989). Functional properties of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) flour. Food Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/0308-8146(89)90139-8

Sharma, K. K., Sreelatha, G., & Dayal, S. (2006). Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.). In Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0433-3_5

Summerfield, R. J., & Roberts, E. H. (2018). Cajanus cajan. In Handbook of Flowering: Volume I. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351072533