[3] The specific epithet rabiei refers to rabbia del cece or 'rabies of chickpea', a name for the disease.

[citation needed] D. rabiei has a spherical punctiform and membranous pyrenium, at first lutescent then opening to a rounded black ostiole.

When both compatible mating types of the fungus are present, it is able to develop a pseudothecia that produces airborne spores.

[10] Other host species include: The most important way to protect susceptible crops from this pathogen is to use resistant cultivars when planting.

These include, but are not limited to: using certified disease free seed, rotation to new crops every two or three years, and planting in wide rows with adequate spacing.