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

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

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

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

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

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

2–10-flowered, 3–15 cm.

4–6-flowered, 6–15 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.

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

20–30(–45) × 5–10 mm.

20–30(–40) × 3–6 mm.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus nevadensis

Lathyrus tuberosus

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Roadsides, meadows, fields.
Elevation 50–100 m. (200–300 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
w North America
[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

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

(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. 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
Subordinate taxa
L. nevadensis var. cusickii, L. nevadensis var. nevadensis, L. nevadensis var. parkeri
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 11: 133. (1876) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 732. (1753)
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