chichling vetch

Noun

chickling vetch (uncountable)

1. A plant with edible seeds similar to peas and chickpeas of the species Lathyrus sativus, used as a famine food but causing lathyrism if eaten in large amounts or over a long time.
   • Lathyrus is known in English as the chickling vetch or grass pea and can be bought in very specialized Italian grocery stores as cicerchia, which fascinatingly enough have been revived in Slow Food circles as a traditional Umbrian food in danger of disappearance. They look something like chickpeas...2007, Ken Albala, “Oddballs and Villains”, in Beans: A History, Berg, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   grass pea, blue sweet pea, chickling pea, Indian pea, white pea, white vetch