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grass-leaf pea

aspen pea, aspen peavine, aspen vetchling, plateau peavine, plateau vetchling

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome or woody rootstock, glabrous. Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

angled, sprawling or climbing, sometimes branched at flowering nodes, 2–6 dm.

angled, sprawling to erect, basally branched 0–3 times, 2–8 dm.

Leaves

5–9 cm;

tendrils usually well developed;

stipules lanceolate to linear, 8–12 × 1–5 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 4–8, scattered, blades usually linear, rarely lanceolate, 30–80 × 1–20 mm, surfaces glabrous.

3–8 cm;

tendrils well developed, often branched;

stipules lanceolate, 8–12 × 2–5 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 6–10, usually paired, blades ovate, 20–40 × 10–20 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

5–8-flowered, 10–18 cm.

2–5-flowered, 4–7 cm.

Flowers

8–15 mm;

calyx lobes subequal, lateral lobes deltate, shorter than tube;

corolla white to blue-orchid, banner erect, blade equal to claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glabrous.

15–20 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes deltate, shorter than tube;

corolla white to slightly pink or lavender, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glabrous.

Legumes

30–50 × 4–8 mm.

30–50 × 5–15 mm.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus graminifolius

Lathyrus laetivirens

Phenology Flowering Apr–Aug. Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Slopes of ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, spruce-fir and oak-juniper forests. Flats, hillsides, sagebrush com­munities, pinyon-juniper, oak, pine, aspen and Douglas-fir forests.
Elevation 1000–2800 m. (3300–9200 ft.) 1200–3200 m. (3900–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lathyrus graminifolius is known from the eastern half of Arizona to the western two-thirds of New Mexico and in trans-Pecos Texas.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

C. L. Hitchcock (1952), S. L. Welsh et al. (1987), and D. Isely (1998) placed Lathyrus laetivirens within the L. lanszwertii complex, whereas R. C. Barneby (1989) treated it as a separate species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lathyrus Fabaceae > subfam. Faboideae > Lathyrus
Sibling taxa
L. angulatus, L. aphaca, L. biflorus, L. brachycalyx, L. brownii, L. cicera, L. decaphyllus, L. delnorticus, L. eucosmus, L. glandulosus, L. grimesii, L. hirsutus, L. hitchcockianus, L. holochlorus, L. japonicus, L. jepsonii, L. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, L. nevadensis, L. nissolia, L. ochroleucus, L. odoratus, L. palustris, L. pauciflorus, L. polyphyllus, L. pratensis, L. pusillus, L. rigidus, L. sphaericus, L. splendens, L. sulphureus, L. sylvestris, L. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, L. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
L. angulatus, L. aphaca, L. biflorus, L. brachycalyx, L. brownii, L. cicera, L. decaphyllus, L. delnorticus, L. eucosmus, L. glandulosus, L. graminifolius, L. grimesii, L. hirsutus, L. hitchcockianus, L. holochlorus, L. japonicus, L. jepsonii, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, L. nevadensis, L. nissolia, L. ochroleucus, L. odoratus, L. palustris, L. pauciflorus, L. polyphyllus, L. pratensis, L. pusillus, L. rigidus, L. sphaericus, L. splendens, L. sulphureus, L. sylvestris, L. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, L. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
Synonyms L. palustris var. graminifolius L. lanszwertii var. laetivirens, L. leucanthus var. laetivirens
Name authority (S. Watson) T. G. White: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 21: 454. (1894) Greene ex Rydberg: Fl. Colorado, 217. (1906)
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