A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum. This legume is cooked as a vegetable in many cultures.

Peas grown for the immature peas are called garden peas, shell peas or green peas. They are sold fresh (usually in the pod), or tinned or frozen.

Several cultivars of peas are eaten pod and all, and are known as mangetout, edible pod peas, snow peas, sugarsnap peas, sugar peas or snap peas. They are especially characteristic of East Asian cuisine. The snow peas are eaten before the pod inflates, whereas the snap peas are eaten when the seeds have partly matured and the pod is round.