Cowpea leaves are the tender young leaves and shoot tips of the cowpea plant (Vigna unguiculata), the same drought-hardy legume grown for black-eyed peas. Cooked into quick relishes and stews — kunde in East Africa, alele and many local names elsewhere — they are one of the most important dryland cooking greens of Africa and Asia, valued as a leaf crop in their own right, quite distinct from the beans the plant also yields.