LENS NIGRICANS

Family and Genus:- See- LEGUMINOSAE

Common Names:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- Ervum nigricans, Lens nigricans subsp. ervoides.

Meaning:- Lens (L) The classical name for the lentil.

Nigricans (L) Almost black, blackish with age.

General description:- Annual.

Stems:-

1) 10-30 cm, patent-pubescent.

Leaves:-

1) Sometimes without tendrils.

2) Leaflets, 2-5 pairs, 5-10 x 1·5-2 mm, linear to oblong.

3) Stipules, semi-hastate or dentate.

Flowers:-

1) Racemes, 1- to 3-flowered, longer than the leaves.

2) Peduncle, with an articulation near the apex, aristate.

3) Calyx-teeth, 2-4 times as long as the tube.

4) Corolla, 4-7 mm, pale blue or lilac.

Fruit:-

1) Legume, 9-12 x 4-6 mm, yellowish, glabrous.

2) Seeds, 1-3.

Key features:-

1) Stipules, semi-hastate or dentate.

2) Legume, glabrous.

3) Peduncle, usually aristate.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Rocky and gravelly places in open dry shrubby vegetation , deciduous

oak scrub, dry meadows and road embankments. 0-900 m. on various substrates.

Distribution:- Scattered throughout the Aegean and wider Mediterranean extending

to the Canary Islands and Caucasus. Rare with limited distribution on Crete.

Flowering time:- Apr to early June.

Photos by:- Charalambos Chiotelis