Cicer

Cicer is a genus of the legume family, Fabaceae, and the only genus found in tribe Cicereae. It is included within the IRLC, and its native distribution is across the Middle East and Asia. Its best-known and only domesticated member is Cicer arietinum, the chickpea. 45 species are accepted: Cicer acanthophyllum Cicer anatolicum Cicer arietinum Cicer arietinum subsp. arietinum - cultivated annual chickpea Cicer arietinum subsp. reticulatum (synonym Cicer reticulatum) Cicer atlanticum Cicer balcaricum Cicer baldshuanicum Cicer bijugum Cicer canariense Cicer chorassanicum Cicer cuneatum Cicer echinospermum Cicer fedtschenkoi Cicer flexuosum Cicer floribundum Cicer graecum Cicer grande Cicer heterophyllum Cicer incanum Cicer incisum Cicer judaicum Cicer kermanense Cicer korshinskyi Cicer laetum Cicer luteum Cicer macracanthum Cicer microphyllum Cicer mogolatvicum Cicer montbretii Cicer multijugum Cicer oxyodon Cicer paucijugum Cicer pinnatifidum Cicer pungens Cicer rasulovae Cicer rechingeri Cicer songaricum Cicer spiroceras Cicer stapfianum Cicer subaphyllum Cicer tragacanthoides Cicer uludereensis Cicer yamashitae Currently, the only cultivated species of the genus Cicer is C. arietinum, commonly known as the chickpea. The wild progenitor of C. arietinum is Cicer reticulatum. Since the chickpea has descended from this wild plant, there is a possibility that this wild progenitor can offer other forms of edible chickpeas after domestication. In wild chickpea (C. reticulatum), a considerable proportion of the mature pods remain intact, and this characteristic leads to the species being described as pre-adapted to domestication. This essentially means that the function of one of its traits can change, or evolve, as the progenitor is domesticated. This implies that traits such as texture, size, and most importantly, nutritional content can be adjusted in this species. Domesticated chickpea is considered vernalization insensitive (it can flower at all times of the year), whereas wild C.