The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), whose cultivation can be traced back more than 3,500 years, is known by a variety of names: Congo pea, Angola pea, red gram -- postmarks of its travels as it spread from eastern India to Africa and the Middle East. In Barbados, it was used to feed pigeons.

Midsummer is when the yellow-red flowers appear, attracting flocks of hummingbirds. Soon after, clusters of fuzzy twisted pods appear, packed with brown speckled seeds that can be eaten fresh when green, when they most resemble peas.