Lathyrus ochroleucus
Lathyrus japonicus
cream pea, cream vetchling, cream-flower peavine, cream-flower sweet pea, creamy peavine, pale vetchling
beach or maritime or sand pea, beach pea, beach vetchling, maritime pea, sea pea, seaside pea
angled, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 0–3 times, 3–8 dm.
angled to narrowly winged, erect, sprawling, or climbing, basally branched 0–4 times, 1–10 dm.
(2–)3–10 cm;
tendrils well developed;
stipules somewhat foliose, ovate-lanceolate, 15–35 × 5–20 mm, sometimes equal to distal leaflets;
leaflets (5 or)6(–8), usually paired, blades broadly ovate to lanceolate, (20–)25–65 × 10–35(–42) mm, surfaces glabrous.
3–15 cm;
tendrils usually well developed, branched or unbranched;
stipules sagittate-ovate, 7–35 × 7–30 mm, as large as basal leaflets;
leaflets 6–12, usually scattered, blades ovate to lanceolate, 15–55 × 5–35 mm, surfaces glabrous throughout or pubescent abaxially.
4–10(–13)-flowered, 3–12 cm.
4–9-flowered, 4–15 cm.
10–15 mm;
calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes lanceolate, usually longer than tube;
corolla cream-white, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;
ovary glabrous.
12–29 mm;
calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, longer than tube;
corolla blue to purple, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;
ovary eglandular and glandular-pubescent.
30–70 × 4–7 mm.
35–65 × 6–12 mm.
= 14.
Lathyrus ochroleucus
Lathyrus japonicus
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
Within Lathyrus japonicus, in the narrow sense, there is a south to north reduction in plant size, including plant height, robustness, and leaflet size, but not flower size, flower number, or fruit size. On the east coast of North America this shift seems fairly abrupt, giving the appearance of a clear distinction between var. maritimus and var. pellitus in the south, and var. japonicus to the north in Labrador and Greenland. However, on the West Coast, there are few truly pubescent forms (var. pellitus), and there seem to be many more intermediates between var. maritimus in the south and var. japonicus to the north.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems 1–3.5 dm; leaflet blades 15–35 mm; tendrils unbranched, less than 3 cm. | var. japonicus |
1. Stems 3–10 dm; leaflet blades 30–50(–55) mm; tendrils branched, 3+ cm. | → 2 |
2. Leaflet blades glabrous. | var. maritimus |
2. Leaflet blades pubescent abaxially (especially new growth). | var. pellitus |
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