Pulses

Contents:


Morphological Changes

After Garrard 1999

  • Appearance of plants which retain seeds in the pod upon ripening rather than dispersing them
  • Increased size of seeds
  • Thinner and more permeable seed coat
  • Peas and vetches developed stiffer stems and became less dependent upon climbing


Pulse Types

After Garrard 1999

Common Name

Wild form

Domestic Form

Chick Pea

Cicer reticulatum Ladiz

C.aretinum L

Grass Pea

Lathyrus cicera L

L. sativus L.

Lentil

Lens orientalis (Boiss)

L. culinaris L.

Lupin

Lupinus Sp. L.

 

Pea

Pisum eliatus  Bieb

Pisum humile Boiss & Noe

P. sativum L.

Broad bean

Vicia Sp. L.

V. faba L.

Bitter vetch

Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd

V. ervilia (L.) Willd.

 

Characteristics of Different Pulses

After Garrard 1999

  • Native habitat
    • Similar to wild wheats and barleys
      • Oak-pistachio park-woodland
      • Pistachio-almond woodland-steppe
  • Distribution
    • All except wild chickpea around much of Fertile Crescent
    • Chick Pea restricted to southeast Turkey
    • Uncertain distribution of broad bean
  • Notes
    • Grass pea and bitter vetch slightly toxic
      • Need to be soaked before human consumption
      • Tend to be used as animal fodder

Copyright (text and images) Andie Byrnes 2005, unless otherwise stated