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purple peavine, Sierra Nevada pea, Sierra Nevada sweet pea, Sierra pea, Sierra peavine

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

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, pubescent except glabrous on legumes and leaflets adaxially. Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

angled, erect, sprawling, or climbing, basally branched 0–several times, 1–6 dm.

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

Leaves

2–10 cm;

tendrils mucronate (less than 1 cm) to well developed;

stipules linear, 5–25 × 1–8 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 4–12, usually scattered, blades broadly ovate to lanceolate or linear, (17–)20–110 × 2–30(–37) mm, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely finely pubescent.

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

2–10-flowered, 3–15 cm.

2–5-flowered, 4–7 cm.

Flowers

12–22 mm;

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

corolla blue-purple to pink-purple or white, banner erect, blade longer than 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

20–30(–45) × 5–10 mm.

30–50 × 5–15 mm.

Lathyrus nevadensis

Lathyrus laetivirens

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Flats, hillsides, sagebrush com­munities, pinyon-juniper, oak, pine, aspen and Douglas-fir forests.
Elevation 1200–3200 m. (3900–10500 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
w North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

(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.)

Key
1. Corollas blue-purple to pink-purple; British Columbia, California, w Oregon, w, c Washington.
var. nevadensis
1. Corollas white; ne Oregon, e Washington, adja­cent Idaho.
→ 2
2. Leaves 4–10 cm; leaflets 6–10; tendrils well developed; flowers 5–10, 12–18 mm.
var. parkeri
2. Leaves 2–5 cm; leaflets 4 or 6; tendrils reduced to bristles, (usually less than 1 cm); flowers 2–4, 18–22 mm.
var. cusickii
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. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, 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
Subordinate taxa
L. nevadensis var. cusickii, L. nevadensis var. nevadensis, L. nevadensis var. parkeri
Synonyms L. lanszwertii var. laetivirens, L. leucanthus var. laetivirens
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 11: 133. (1876) Greene ex Rydberg: Fl. Colorado, 217. (1906)
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