''Lens'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
legume family mostly known for its
edible seeds, which are referred to as
lentil
The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...
s. ''Lens'' contains four species of small, erect or climbing herbs with
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
leaves, small inconspicuous white flowers, and small flattened pods. The lentil most commonly eaten is the seed of ''
Lens culinaris''.
Phylogeny
The genus ''Lens'' is generally divided into a few related "gene pool" groups that guide crossing. Wong et al., 2015 reports a
SNP-derived phylogeny as:
The non-accepted names (per ILDIS) are suffixed with their accepted counterparts.
References
Fabeae
Fabaceae genera
Taxa named by Philip Miller
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