ABSTRACT
Together with other annual pulse legumes such as pea, chick pea and bean, grass pea ranks amongst the oldest crops in cultivation [3,4, 5]. With a geographical distribution and origin centre from a broad area in Southwest and Central Asia, all present day grass pea lines (of which around 150 have been described) seem to derive from an ancestral division of these original genotypes into two, more restricted geographical origins. Thus, one group would have originated from the Indian subcontinent and is composed mainly of genotypes with coloured flowers and seeds which, in addition, are round and wrinkled, while a second group would have
originated from the M editerranean Basin and includes mainly white flowered genotypes that produce white, flat, smooth and larger seeds and are coupled with higher yields.
