Puerto Rican Black Cowpea

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This cowpea originated from a Puerto Rican home garden in Florida.  It is a vigorous, climbing variety that is highly resistant to pests and diseases.  Crucially, this variety is resistant to cowpea curculio.  Cowpea curculio is a devastating insect that stings and ruins the seeds of many varieties.  In our trials of more than 20 bush varieties from catalogues, none were resistant to this pest.  This makes this variety an incredible addition where this pest is an issue.  Pods are quite long, containing as many as 15 beans.  This variety also has the benefit of the drying pods being very rain resistant, where other varieties can mold if rained on while at this stage.  This cowpea is daylength sensitive, meaning flowering and pod production does not begin until Fall no matter when the seeds are planted.  This variety can trail on the ground but performs best given a trellis structure to climb.  The young pods are fibrous and not suitable as a snap bean.  It can be shelled and consumed at the unripe “pea” stage or allowed to dry down into dry beans.  Greens of all Vigna unguiculata varieties can be cooked and eaten.

This listing is for ~40 seeds.  Vigna unguiculata.