Lentils

The term adas, meaning lentil, is referred to in the Qur’ān as one of the foods that the followers of Moses were used to eating in Egypt.

Lentils, Lens culinaris, are seeds contained in a small fruit pod. Archaeological evidence suggests that lentils began to be cultivated as a domestic crop around the same time as wheat and barley in South-West Asia. It is still an important food crop today, widely cultivated around the world.

Before start drawing lentils for the book illustration, the artist germinated the lentils and grew them to maturity to paint the full life cycle of the plant. She grew the most common colours of the lentil, red, brown yellow and green, some of which like the French Le Puy had lovely speckled patterns on them. The plants pretty much have the same habit when they grow and the little flowers range through white, blue and purple.

Grows at Kew in Edible Science: Kew’s Kitchen Garden.

Main flower painting x 20, dissection of flower x 15

Watercolour on paper