Vicia ervilia
| Bitter vetch | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Fabeae |
| Genus: | Vicia |
| Species: | V. ervilia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vicia ervilia | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Vicia ervilia, called ervil[3] or bitter vetch, is an ancient legume crop of the Mediterranean region. Besides the English names, other common names include: gavdaneh (Persian), kersannah (Arabic), yero (Spanish), rovi (Greek), and burçak (Turkish).[4]
Description
Bitter vetch is an annual plant up to 0.6 metres (2.0 ft) tall. It is insect-pollinated, and like other legumes is able to fix nitrogen. It can tolerate a range of soil types as long as these are moist and well-drained; it does not grow in heavy shade.[5]
Cultivation
The nutritional value of the grain for ruminant cattle has guaranteed the species' continued cultivation in Morocco, Spain and Turkey. The crop is easy to cultivate and harvest and can be grown on very shallow, alkaline soils.
Distribution
The wild strains of bitter vetch are limited to an area that includes Anatolia and northern Iraq, with an extension south along the Anti-Lebanon Mountains of Syria and Lebanon. Traces of the earliest domesticated instances were recovered from several archeological sites in Turkey, with an uncorrected radiocarbon dating of the 7th and 6th millennia BC.[6]
Uses
The grain is an excellent sheep and cattle feed concentrate. It has been held in high esteem by farmers in the Old World since the beginning of agriculture to improve the nutritional value of bulk feeds.[7]
The grain when split resembles red lentils. For human consumption the bitterness of the seeds needs to be removed through leaching by several changes of boiling water. Owing to this bitterness, it is unlikely that someone would accidentally confuse bitter vetch with red lentils.[7] According to Zohary and Hopf, this crop is consumed only by the poorest people or in times of famine.[6]
In ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder stated that bitter vetch (ervum) has medicinal value like vetch (vicia), citing the letters of Augustus where the emperor wrote that he regained his health from a diet of bitter vetch (N.H. 18.38).
The plant is linked with the Talmudic borit karshina, a plant listed in the second century as an ingredient in the incense offerings employed in the Tabernacle and the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.[8]
References
- ^ Rhodes, L. (2016). "Vicia ervilia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T180099A19397764. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T180099A19397764.en. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ L.L. Bellido, "Grain legumes for animal feed" Archived 2006-08-31 at the Wayback Machine in Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective, J.E. Bermejo and J. Leon, editors; Plant Production and Protection Series, No. 26 (Rome: FAO), pp. 273-288
- ^ "Vicia ervilia - (L.)Willd". Plants for a Future. Archived from the original on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ a b Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf and Ehud Weiss, Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin, 4th edition (Oxford: University Press, 2012), p. 116
- ^ a b Enneking & Francis (1997) "Development of Vicia ervilia as a grain crop for Southern Australia"
- ^ Frumin, Suembikya; Maeir, Aren M.; Eniukhina, Maria; Dagan, Amit; Weiss, Ehud (2024-02-12). "Plant-related Philistine ritual practices at biblical Gath". Scientific Reports. 14 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-52974-9. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10861565.