Mimicry of lentil and the domestication of common vetch and grass pea

Abstract

A hypothesis is proposed whereby weedy vetch (Vicia sativa L.) seed moved with seed of the cultivated lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) as a tolerated weed during the spread of the lentil from the Fertile Crescent in the Near East to its current distribution. As a result, selection occurred in vetch weeds for a reduction in dormancy/hard-seededness, increased competitive ability and biomass, and phenological adaptation to new environments⇆redisposing the weed for domestication. The cropping of common vetch for forage in pure culture followed. Archaeological evidence of admixtures of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) in Neolithic finds of lentil, pea (Pisum sativum L.) and bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Wild.) suggests a similar process of selection in grass pea for a weedy habit from which domestication later occurred.