plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/pigeo...eon-pea/infos
Pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan, is a perennial shrub in the family Fabaceae grown for its edible pods and seeds. Pigeonpea is a highly branched shrub with a woody base, slender stems and trifoliate leaves. The plant leaflets are oblong or elliptical in shape and the leaves are alternate and arranged spirally on the stems. The plant usually produces yellow flowers, but they can be yellow with streaks of purple or red. The flowers are produced on racemes of 5–10 flowers. The seed pods are flat and either straight or sickle shaped and measure 5–9 cm (2–3.5 in) in length. Each pod can contain between 2 and 9 seeds which can be white, cream, brown, yellow, purple or black or mottled with any combination of these colors. Pigeonpea can reach 0.5–4.0 m (1.6–13.1 ft) in height and is usually grown as an annual, harvested after one season. It may also be referred to as red gram or congo pea and originates from India.