The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

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

flat or narrow leaf everlasting or sweet pea, flat pea, narrow-leaf everlasting peavine, narrow-leaf everlasting-pea, narrow-leaf peavine, narrow-leaf vetchling

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous. Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

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

broadly winged, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 1–3 times, 6–20 dm.

Leaves

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.

2–4 cm, rachises winged;

tendrils well developed, branched;

stipules linear, 10–30 × 1–3 mm, less than 1/2 width of stem, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades linear, 20–150 × 4–24 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–5-flowered, 4–7 cm.

3–10-flowered, 9–27 cm.

Flowers

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.

12–17 mm;

calyx lobes equal, lateral lobes deltate, usually shorter than tube;

corolla red-purple, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glandular-pubescent, style rotated 90° from ovary axis.

Legumes

30–50 × 5–15 mm.

30–75 × 5–10 mm.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus laetivirens

Lathyrus sylvestris

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Flats, hillsides, sagebrush com­munities, pinyon-juniper, oak, pine, aspen and Douglas-fir forests. Roadsides, fencerows, waste ground.
Elevation 1200–3200 m. (3900–10500 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CO; CT; GA; ID; IN; KY; MA; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NH; NY; OR; PA; RI; SC; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (Nuevo León), Pacific Islands (New Zealand)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Lathyrus sylvestris is similar to L. latifolius and intermediate populations are known to occur in Europe (M. Valero 1991). In North America, L. sylvestris is distinguished by its distinctly narrower stipules.

(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. 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
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. 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. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, L. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
Synonyms L. lanszwertii var. laetivirens, L. leucanthus var. laetivirens
Name authority Greene ex Rydberg: Fl. Colorado, 217. (1906) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 733. (1753)
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