One casual but pensive look at the genetics of the hybrid progenies of Pisum sativum and Vavilovia formosa

The only species of the legume genus Vavilovia, a paleoendemic to the Caucasus commonly known simply as Vavilovia (V. formosa) has an extraordinary significance for the evolution and phylogeny of the tribe Fabeae, with its economically important species, such as lentil (Lens spp.) or pea (Pisum spp). This paper is attempting to deduce the genetic background of the materially perished, but thoroughly described, F1 progeny between Vavilovia and field pea (P. sativum var. arvense) in both crossing combinations, obtained by the N. I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), in 1988. Although with only one plant in each direction, the resulting phenotypes are the only known successful intergeneric hybridisation in legumes with impressively interesting features, such as the trifoliolate leaves absent in both parents, as well as vastly inspiring and potentially useful for the conservation of Vavilovia and crop improvement of pea and other species of the tribe.