The lentil plant (Lens culinaris) is an annual legume grown globally for its edible, lens-shaped seeds. Understanding its visual characteristics requires observing its form, from its slender stems and compound leaves to its distinctive flowers and flat pods. This overview describes the plant’s appearance throughout its growing season.
Overall Growth Structure
The mature lentil plant presents as a slender, bushy annual herb with a growth habit that can be erect, semi-erect, or somewhat spreading. Its stems are generally thin, angular, and often covered in fine, short hairs, contributing to a slightly fuzzy appearance. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, the plant typically reaches a height between 30 and 50 centimeters, or roughly 12 to 20 inches.
The plant’s structure is characterized by multiple branches that originate close to the ground. Due to the delicate nature of its stems, well-grown crops may lean or lodge late in the season, especially as the weight of developing pods increases.
The lentil plant exhibits an indeterminate growth pattern, meaning it continues to produce new flowers and set pods even as older pods begin to mature. This simultaneous reproductive activity results in the visual presence of various stages of development—from fresh blooms to fully formed pods—on the same plant at any given time. This feature distinguishes it from many other cultivated crops that mature all at once.
Detailed Foliage and Stem Features
The foliage of the lentil plant is a primary identifying feature, displaying a delicate, pinnately compound structure. Each leaf is arranged alternately along the stem and is composed of multiple pairs of small leaflets, usually numbering between 10 and 16. These leaflets are typically oblong-linear or elliptical in shape and lack serrated edges.
The color of the foliage ranges from a pale to grayish-green, sometimes leaning toward a yellowish-green hue, and the leaflets are attached directly to the central leaf stalk (rachis). A defining characteristic of the lentil leaf is the modification of the terminal leaflet. This last leaflet on the rachis is often converted into a small, simple tendril or a bristle.
This small, coiled or straight tendril provides a means of support, allowing the otherwise weak-stemmed plant to cling to nearby structures or other lentil plants. The entire leaf structure, including the slender stems, is covered in fine, soft hairs called pubescence.
Flowers and Pod Development
The lentil plant produces small, distinctly pea-like flowers, which are classified as papilionaceous due to their butterfly-like shape. These blossoms are relatively small, measuring only a few millimeters in length. They emerge from the axils of the leaves, where the leaf joins the stem.
The flowers appear in short clusters known as racemes, with each cluster typically containing one to four individual blooms. Flower colors vary across different cultivars, commonly presenting in shades of white, pale blue, pink, or light purple. Flowering begins on the lower branches and progresses sequentially upward toward the top of the plant.
Following successful self-pollination, each flower develops into a small, flat pod. The mature pod is oblong and laterally compressed, meaning it is thin from side to side. These pods are short, generally measuring less than 2.5 centimeters (about one inch) in length.
Each pod usually contains one or two of the characteristic lens-shaped seeds, which are the lentils themselves. As the seeds develop, the pod swells slightly but retains its flattened appearance. The exterior of the pod is smooth and typically turns a tan or straw-yellow color upon drying and maturity.