Cicer L.

Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

Morphology General Habit

Erect or prostrate annuals, or perennial herbs with annual stems from woody rootstocks, pubescent with stalked glandular hairs or hairs eglandular, sometimes the leaf rhachis, peduncles and stipules spinose.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 3-foliolate or more usually pinnate, imparipinnate or paripinnate with the rhachis ending in a tendril or spine; leaflets conspicuously dentate; stipules small or large, foliaceous, dentate or incised.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary or in 2–5-flowered axillary racemes; bracts small; bracteoles absent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx nearly regular, 5-lobed; tube short, oblique or dorsally gibbous; lobes subequal.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white, pink, purplish or blue, veined; standard obovate, narrowed into a broad claw, without appendages; wings oblong-obovate, free from the keel.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary stamen free; anthers all similar.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary sessile, 1–10-ovuled; style filiform, incurved, glabrous; stigma dilated or not, terminal.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods sessile, elliptic, obovate or elongate-rhomboid, acuminate, inflated.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds subglobose to oblong-obovoid, beaked; hilum without an aril.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

Cicer, the only genus in Cicereae (Fig. 55), occurs exclusively in the Old World, with centres of distribution in W and C Asia. One of the 43 species occurs in NE tropical Africa. Cicer arietinum L., the chickpea , is widely cultivated in warm temperate and subtropical regions. The genus was formerly placed in Fabeae (as Vicieae), however, Kupicha (1977; 1981b) showed clearly that the genus is distinct and reinstated tribe Cicereae. Steele & Wojciechowski (2003) and Wojciechowski (2003) find Cicer is best supported as sister to the Trifolieae–Fabeae clade.

Polhill (1981a) had placed Cicereae as part of his ‘temperate epulvinate series’. Doyle (1995) and Liston (1995) grouped the Cicereae, Trifolieae, Galegeae, Hedysareae, Fabeae (as Vicieae) and some genera currently in Millettieae sens. lat., on the basis that they lack the inverted repeat (IR). Wojciechowski et al. (2000) placed Cicereae within their Inverted Repeat Lacking Clade (IRLC) and within this, in their Vicioid clade. Galega and Cicereae are sister groups in this analysis to the rest of the Vicioid clade which includes Fabeae and Trifolieae (except Parochetus which is basally branching to the Vicioid clade). The postulated relationship with Galega is unexpected and, perhaps because of this, the morphological similarities and/or differences remain unexplored. The analyses of Wojciechowski (2003), Steele & Wojciechowski (2003) and Wojciechowski et al. (2004), suggest that Cicereae remains a fairly isolated group with respect to Galega and the Trifolieae-Fabeae clade. In future, tribe Galegeae sens. strict. is likely to comprise the single genus Galega, although relationships with Parochetus and Cicereae need to be studied further to ascertain if these should also be included.

Habit

Herbs, sometimes shrubby

Ecology

Mediterranean and warm and continental temperate grassland and shrubland; perennial species often montane or upland

Distribution

Mediterranean region to W and C Asia, Canary Islands and NE tropical Africa