Cicer arietinum
Cicer arietinum
Safety & Hazards
The foliage and seedpods contain oxalic acid and can irritate the skin[ 33 Title Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Publication Author Organ. J. Publisher Faber Year 1960 ISBN - Description Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide. , 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. , 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. There is also one report that the foliage is poisonous[ 171 Title Economic Botany. Publication Author Hill. A. F. Publisher The Maple Press Year 1952 ISBN - Description Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover. ] - this might relate to the oxalic acid. Oxalic acid can lock up certain nutrients in the diet, especially calcium, and therefore heavy use of foods that contain this substance can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Cooking will greatly reduce the oxalic acid content. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since the oxalic acid can aggravate their condition[ 238 Title Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Publication Author Bown. D. Publisher Dorling Kindersley, London. Year 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31 Description A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant. ].
Botanical Description
Cicer arietinum is a spreading to erect, annual plant growing up to 100cm tall. The stems can be simple, or branched from the base. The plant produces a taproot reaching 1 - 2 metres deep, with secondary roots mostly spreading in the top 15 - 30cm soil layer[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. A staple item of food in many areas of the world, chickpea has probably been in cultivation by humans for over 10,000 years. The plant is widely cultivated in warm temperate and tropical areas for its edible seed[ 46 Title Dictionary of Economic Plants. Publication Author Uphof. J. C. Th. Publisher Weinheim Year 1959 ISBN - Description An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader. , 50 Title Flora Europaea Publication Author ? Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1964 ISBN - Description An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader. ].