Flora of North America species comparison

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Lens

lentil
Habit Herbs, annual, unarmed, hairs unicellular.
Stems

erect, angled, pilose.
Leaves

alternate, even-pinnate;

stipules present, foliose, semisagittate;

rachis with tendril or bristle, not winged;

petiolate;

leaflets [4–]10–14[–16], stipels absent, blade margins entire or dentate, surfaces pilose.
Inflorescences

1–3-flowered, axillary racemes;

bracts and bracteoles absent.
Flowers

papilionaceous;

calyx campanulate, lobes 5, 2–4 times longer than tube;

corolla white to bluish [pale lavender], 10–15 mm;

stamens 10, diadelphous;

anthers basifixed;

ovary glabrous;

style abaxially flattened, laterally pubescent.
Fruits

legumes, sessile, flattened, rhomboidal, dehiscent, glabrous.
Seeds

1 or 2, lenticular.
x

= 7.

Lens
Distribution
from USDA
s Europe; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 6 (1 in the flora).

Lens comprises species of varying degrees of genetic isolation (G. Ladizinsky et al. 1984) and includes the cultivated lentil, L. culinaris. The wild species of Lens are native to the Mediterranean region and western Asia.

Phylogenetic studies have placed Lens consistently within the Vicieae (M. F. Wojciechowski et al. 2004; H. Schaefer et al. 2012).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. Author: Steven L. Broich.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae
Subordinate taxa
L. culinaris
Name authority Miller: Gard. Dict. Abr. ed. 4, vol. 2. (1754) — name conserved
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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