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Lens culinaris

Common name:	Lentil	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Medik.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Lens esculenta (Moench.), Ervum lens (L.), Cicer lens (Willd.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Original habitat is obscure, possibly the Mediterranean.
Habitat:	Not known in the wild.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	L. culinaris subsp. culinaris[G] Lentilla lens[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Lentil [P,B,E,H], Linze [D], Masura [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Europe India

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.45m. It is not frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Cleistogomy (self-pollinating without flowers ever opening). The plant is self-fertile. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Cultivar 'Chilean': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'HarLen': Cultivated Beds.
Cultivar 'WH2040': Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Seed Seedpod.

Seed - cooked or sprouted and eaten raw[1]. A very nutritious food[171, 177], the seeds can be cooked on their own or added to soups, stews etc[183]. The seed can be soaked for 12 hours in warm water and then allowed to sprout for about 5 days[244]. They have a crunchy, fresh flavour[244]. Lentils are more digestible than many legumes[K]. The dried seed can also be ground into a powder and used with cereal flours in making bread etc[183], this greatly enhances the value of the protein in the bread. The seed stores better if it is left in its husk[200].
Young seedpods - used fresh or cooked like green beans[61, 177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Laxative Poultice.

The seeds are mucilaginous and laxative[240]. They are considered to be useful in the treatment of constipation and other intestinal affections[240]. Made into a paste, they are a useful cleansing application in foul and indolent ulcers[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant[K], it prefers a sandy soil in a warm sunny sheltered position[27, 37, 200]. Another report says that it does best on clay[37]. It produces most seed when grown on poorer soils[37].
Lentils are widely cultivated in warm temperate and tropical zones for their edible and very nutritious seed, there are many named varieties[183]. The plants are much hardier than is commonly supposed and many of these varieties can succeed in Britain, particularly in warm summers. There is at least one, called 'WH2040', that can withstand temperatures as low as -23° c in the seedling stage[200]. 'Chilean' is a low-growing plant that can be grown in the winter in areas where winter vegetables can be grown[183]. 'HarLen' tolerates temperatures down to -10° c and performs very well in gardens[183].
The plants take the same time as peas to mature, so lentils are a potential commercial crop for Britain[141]. Yields of up to 2 tonnes per hectare are possible[200]. The main problem with growing them as a commercial crop is that they are produced by using cheap labour in many countries which makes it very difficult for British farmers to compete on prices. However, this does not preclude their being grown in the garden and allotment.
Lentils are also beneficial to grow as part of a rotation on the farm or garden. They have a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby and, if the roots are left in the ground when the seeds are harvested, this will provide a source of nitrogen for the next crop[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early April in situ[1]. Some cultivars are probably suitable for sowing outdoors in the autumn, at least in the milder parts of the country[200].

Cultivars

'WH2040': This cultivar can withstand temperatures as low as -23° c in the seedling stage[200].
'HarLen': This extremely hardy cultivar tolerates temperatures down to -10° c and performs very well in gardens[183].
'Chilean': A low-growing plant that can be grown in the winter in areas where winter vegetables can be grown[183].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Ervum lens (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for Lens culinaris subsp. culinaris (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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