What is the scientific name of the chickpea used in falafel?

The scientific name of the chickpea used in falafel is Cicer arietinum. It is the accepted binomial name for the cultivated chickpea, whether the seed is called a chickpea, garbanzo bean, gram, or chana.

Cicer is the genus, and arietinum is the species epithet. The plant belongs to Fabaceae, the legume family, which also includes peas, lentils, and fava beans. Its formal name distinguishes it from those related crops and from wild species in the genus Cicer.

Carl Linnaeus described the chickpea in the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753. The epithet arietinum is linked to the seed’s resemblance to a ram’s head; ancient writers also described chickpea varieties using imagery associated with rams.

The cultivated species is closely related to Cicer reticulatum, the wild chickpea generally regarded as its progenitor. In falafel, soaked chickpeas are ground rather than boiled before shaping and frying. However, not every falafel contains this species: Egyptian ta'ameya commonly uses fava beans instead.