Definitions for legumes and pulses | Knowledge for policy

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Legumes and pulses

Examples of definitions of legumes and pulses

Source	Definition Pulses	Definition Legumes	Legumes and Pulses Included
EFSA 2022	Pulses refer to the group that 'includes dried seeds from any type of legumes, also known as pulses'.	Legumes refer to the group that 'includes any type of fresh seeds (without pod) from legumes used as source of food and any type of Legumes with pod, i.e. legume pods eaten complete with still immature seeds inside'.	Pulses: beans (dry), lentils (dry), peas (dry), lupins (dry) and other pulses Legumes: beans (fresh seeds without pods), peas (without pods), lupins (without pods) and other legume vegetables
FAO, WHO 2007	“Pulses are dry seeds of leguminous plants which are distinguished from leguminous oil seeds by their low fat content.”		Beans^a, lentils, peas, chickpeas, field beans, cowpeas
NNR 2023	“Pulses is often used as the term for the ripened (or dried) form of peas and beans, including lentils, but excluding green beans and green peas.”	“Legumes is a collective term for plants under the Fabaceae botanical family and include various types of beans, lentils, peas, and soybeans” “Peanuts are botanically legumes but are included in the nuts and seeds food group.”	As definition
FAO 2016, FAO 2014	“Pulses are part of the legume family, and are defined as annual leguminous crops yielding between 1 and 12 grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod, used for both food and feed. The term “pulses” is limited to crops harvested solely for dry grain, thereby excluding crops harvested green for food, which are classified as vegetable crops, as well as those crops used mainly for oil extraction and leguminous crops that are used exclusively for sowing purposes.”		Dry beans, dry broad beans, dry peas, chickpeas, cowpeas, pigeon peas, lentils, bambara beans, vetches, lupins and pulses not elsewhere specified
WCRF 2020	“Leguminous plants are plants that produce their fruit as pods. The dried, edible seeds of this family are often called pulses, although this term is used interchangeably with legumes. They include beans, lentils, peas and peanuts (groundnuts). The dried forms, which have matured and dried on the plant, are eaten most widely.”		Βeans, lentils, peas and peanuts (groundnuts)
USDA 2020	“The word ‘pulse’ is used to describe the seeds you can eat found in the pods, such as beans, peas, and lentils. Foods in this subgroup include beans (kidney beans, pinto beans, white beans, black beans, lima beans, fava beans), dried peas (chickpeas, black-eyed peas, pigeon peas, split peas), and lentils. Edamame, which is the soybean in the pod, is also counted in this subgroup (even though it is eaten fresh and not dried). Green peas and green (string) beans are not part of this subgroup because their nutrition is more like foods in other vegetable subgroups. Green peas and green lima beans are in the Starchy Vegetables group. Green (string) beans are in the Other Vegetables group”		As definition
BHF 2020	Pulses are part of the legume family – the main difference between pulses and legumes is that pulses are dried before they are eaten (so fresh peas are legumes; dried peas are pulses). The exception is peanuts and soya beans, which are classed as legumes, and are higher in fat and lower in carbohydrate than other legumes.		As definition
GPC 2020	“Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family. Pulses grow in pods and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.”		As definition

^aExceptions: Phaseolus mungo L. syn. Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper and Phaseolus aureus Roxb. syn. Phaseolus radiatur L., Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

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