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

earth-nut pea, earth-nut peavine, tuber vetchling, tuberous pea, tuberous sweetpea

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous. Herbs perennial, from tuber-bearing rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

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

not winged, sprawling, branched along trailing stems several times, 2–6 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.

0.5–2 cm;

tendrils well developed;

stipules filiform-linear, 5–10 × 1–3 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades lanceolate, 10–40 × 5–15 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–5-flowered, 4–7 cm.

4–6-flowered, 6–15 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.

8–12 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, equal to tube;

corolla reddish, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glabrous, style rotated 90° from ovary axis.

Legumes

30–50 × 5–15 mm.

20–30(–40) × 3–6 mm.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus laetivirens

Lathyrus tuberosus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Flats, hillsides, sagebrush com­munities, pinyon-juniper, oak, pine, aspen and Douglas-fir forests. Roadsides, meadows, fields.
Elevation 1200–3200 m. (3900–10500 ft.) 50–100 m. (200–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; TN; VT; WA; WI; WV; MB; ON; QC; SK; Europe; w Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[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.)

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. sylvestris, L. tingitanus, L. torreyi, L. tracyi, 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: 732. (1753)
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