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

cream pea, cream vetchling, cream-flower peavine, cream-flower sweet pea, creamy peavine, pale vetchling

broad-leaf peavine, everlasting or perennial sweet pea, everlasting pea, everlasting peavine, everlasting vetchling, perennial pea, perennial peavine, perennial sweet pea, sweet pea

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous except calyx ciliate. Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous.
Stems

angled, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 0–3 times, 3–8 dm.

broadly winged, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 1–5 times, 8–20 dm.

Leaves

(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.

2–5 cm, rachises broadly winged;

tendrils well developed, branched;

stipules lanceolate, 30–40 × 7–15 mm, at least 1/2 width of stem, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades lanceolate-elliptic, 30–120 × 7–50 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

4–10(–13)-flowered, 3–12 cm.

5–15-flowered, 10–33 cm.

Flowers

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.

15–20 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes linear-triangular, shorter than tube;

corolla purple, magenta, pink, or white, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

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

Legumes

30–70 × 4–7 mm.

50–110 × 5–10 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Lathyrus ochroleucus

Lathyrus latifolius

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul. Flowering May–Sep.
Habitat Moist woodlands, clearings, thickets, glades, meadows. Roadsides, disturbed areas.
Elevation 0–1500 m. (0–4900 ft.) 50–2100 m. (200–6900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; IA; ID; IL; IN; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NJ; NY; OH; PA; SD; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay), Asia (China, Japan), n, e, s Africa, Pacific Islands (Hawaii, New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lathyrus latifolius is widely naturalized in North America and forms large thickets along roadsides, especially in the Pacific Coast states. M. J. W. Godt and J. L. Hamrick (1991) explored genetic variation within the species as it occurs in North America.

(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. laetivirens, L. lanszwertii, L. latifolius, L. littoralis, L. nevadensis, L. nissolia, 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. 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
Synonyms L. nevadensis subsp. stipulaceus
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 159. (1831) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 733. (1753)
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