Editing Lentil (section)

=== History ===

The cultivated lentil ''Lens culinaris'' subsp. ''culinaris'' was derived from its wild subspecies ''L. culinaris'' subsp. ''orientalis'', although other species may also have contributed some genes, according to [[Jonathan Deininger Sauer|Jonathan Sauer]] (''Historical Geography of Crop Plants'', 2017).<ref name="Sauer">{{cite book |last= Sauer |first=Jonathan D. |date= 2017|title= Historical Geography of Crop Plants: A Select Roster|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=moZHDwAAQBAJ |publisher= Routledge  |isbn= 978-1-351-44062-2 |quote=The primary progenitor of the cultigen is evidently ''L. orientalis'' native to the Near East; the other species may have contributed some genetic diversity to the crop. ''L. culinaris'' (''L. esculentus''), the domesticate, differs from the wild species in having indehiscent pods, due to a single recessive gene, and nondormant seeds.}}</ref> Unlike their wild ancestors, domesticated lentil crops have [[indehiscent]] pods and non-dormant seeds.<ref name="Sauer"/>

Lentil was domesticated in the [[Fertile Crescent]] of the [[Near East]] and then spread to [[Europe]] and [[North Africa]] and the Indo-Gangetic plain. The primary center of diversity for the domestic ''Lens culinaris'' as well as its wild progenitor ''L. culinaris ssp. orientalis'' is considered to be the Middle East. The oldest known carbonized remains of lentil from [[Greece]]'s [[Franchthi Cave]] are dated to 11,000 BC. In archaeobotanical excavations carbonized remains of lentil seeds have been recovered from widely dispersed places such as [[Tell Ramad]] in [[Syria]] (6250–5950 BC), Aceramic Beidha in [[Jordan]], [[Hacilar]] in [[Turkey]] (5800–5000 BC), Tepe Sabz (Ita. [[:it:Tepe Sabz|Tepe Sabz]]) in [[Iran]] (5500–5000 BC) and Argissa-Magula Tessaly in Greece (6000–5000 BC), along other places.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jain |first1=Shri Mohan |last2=Al-Khayri |first2=Jameel M. |last3=Johnson |first3=Dennis V. |title=Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies: Legumes: Volume 7 |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-23399-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=if60DwAAQBAJ}}</ref>