The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species Lathyrus oleraceus. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods a e fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from several species of Lathyrus.