Grass Pea

A hardy legume (Lathyrus sativus) grown across South Asia, the Horn of Africa and parts of the Mediterranean for its exceptional tolerance of drought, flooding and poor soils, making it a reliable crop in years when other pulses fail. Its seed contains a neurotoxin that, when grass pea forms the bulk of a person's diet over a prolonged period, can cause a paralytic condition called lathyrism, a risk that has historically limited its use mainly to famine and subsistence farming. Plant breeding programs have worked to develop low-toxin varieties so that the crop's resilience can be used more safely as food security improves in the regions that rely on it.