Sometimes they are difficult to cook because of the hard seed coat that results from excessively dry production conditions. Plants normally range from 12 to 20 in. Plants can have single stems or many branches depending upon the population in the field. Flowering begins on the lowest branches, gradually moving up the plant and continuing until harvest. Each flower produces a short pod containing one or two lens-shaped seeds.
Flowers can be white, lilac or pale blue in color and are self-pollinated.
At maturity plants tend to lodge because of their weak stems. Lentil produced in North America has larger seeds than that from India and the Near East. Lentil is adapted to cool growing conditions, and the young plants are tolerant of spring frosts. This allows for early spring planting dates. Lentils have been grown extensively in the semi-arid parts of the world, where they have slightly lower yields, but good seed quality.