Lentil

The lentil (Vicia lens or Lens culinaris) is an annual legume grown for its lens-shaped edible seeds or pulses, also called lentils. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.

Lentil seeds are used around the world for culinary purposes. In cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, where lentils are a staple, split lentils (often with their hulls removed) known as dal are often cooked into a thick curry that is usually eaten with rice or roti. Lentils are commonly used in stews and soups.

Lentil is known throughout the world by many different names . The English "lentil" is ultimately derived from the latin "lens" (meaning lentil), long used as the genus name. The first use of the word lens to designate a specific genus was in the 17th century by the botanist Tournefort. The word "lens" for the lentil is of classical Roman or Latin origin, possibly the source of the prominent Roman family name Lentulus, just as the family name "Cicero" was derived from the chickpea, Cicer arietinum, and "Fabia" (as in Quintus Fabius Maximus) from the fava bean (Vicia faba).

The genus Vicia is part of the subfamily Faboideae which is contained in the flowering plant family Fabaceae or commonly known as legume or bean family, of the order Fabales in the kingdom Plantae.

The former genus Lens, now considered a section of genus Vicia, consisted of the cultivated L. culinaris and six related wild taxa. As members of genus Lens, these six are Lens orientalis, Lens tomentosus, Lens lamottei, Lens odemensis, Lens ervoides, and Lens nigricans. The seven members are often referred to as "taxa" instead of "species" and/or "subspecies", as while it is broadly agreed there are seven of them, whether they constitute distinct species is not broadly agreed on. Among the wild taxa, L. orientalis is considered to be the progenitor of the cultivated lentil L. culinaris. Of the taxa, L. culinaris and L. orientalis are most often considered subspecies, and so are often also classified as L. culinaris subsp. culinaris and L. culinaris subsp. orientalis respectively. Following reassignment to genus Vicia, they may also be referred to as Vicia lens subsp. culinaris and Vicia lens subsp. orientalis.

Lentil is hypogeal, which means the cotyledons of the germinating seed stay in the ground and inside the seed coat. Therefore, it is less vulnerable to frost, wind erosion, or insect attack.

The plant is a diploid, annual, bushy herb of erect, semierect, or spreading and compact growth and normally varies from 30 to 50 centimetres (12 to 20 in) in height. It has many hairy branches and its stem is slender and angular. The rachis bears 10 to 15 leaflets in five to eight pairs. The leaves are alternate, of oblong-linear and obtuse shape and from yellowish green to dark bluish green in colour. In general, the upper leaves are converted into tendrils, whereas the lower leaves are mucronate. If stipules are present, they are small. The flowers, one to four in number, are small, white, pink, purple, pale purple, or pale blue in colour. They arise from the axils of the leaves, on a slender footstalk almost as long as the leaves. The pods are oblong, slightly inflated, and about 1.5 centimetres (5⁄8 in) long. Normally, each of them contains two seeds, about 0.5 centimetres (1⁄4 in) in diameter, in the characteristic lens shape. The seeds can also be mottled and speckled. The several cultivated varieties of lentil differ in size, hairiness, and colour of the leaves, flowers, and seeds.

Lentils are self-pollinating. The flowering begins from the lowermost buds and gradually moves upward, so-called acropetal flowering. About two weeks are needed for all the flowers to open on the single branch. At the end of the second day and on the third day after the opening of the flowers, they close completely and the colour begins to fade. After three to four days, the setting of the pods takes place.