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

common sweet pea, gesse odorante, sweet pea, sweet vetchling

grimes' pea, grimes' vetchling

Habit Herbs annual, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Herbs perennial, from rhizomelike rootstock, glabrous.
Stems

broadly winged, climbing, basally branched 1–3 times, 8–30 dm.

angled, erect, branched 0–2 times basally or from proximal nodes, 0.5–2 dm.

Leaves

2–6 cm, rachises winged;

tendrils well developed;

stipules lanceolate, 10–25 × 2–6 mm, smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 2, blades ovate or obovate, 15–50 × 10–40 mm, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pustulose-hirsute.

1–2 cm;

tendrils reduced to bristles;

stipules lanceolate to linear, 5–15 × 1–5 mm, much smaller than leaflets;

leaflets 4 or 6, paired, blades ovate to obovate, 10–25 × 5–10 mm, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–4-flowered, 10–20 cm.

2–4-flowered, 4–6 cm.

Flowers

20–25 mm;

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

corolla white, pink, purple, violet, or blue, banner erect, blade much longer than claw, wings longer than keel;

ovary densely pustulose-hirsute, style rotated 90° from ovary axis.

14–17 mm;

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

corolla bicolored lavender and white, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings longer than keel, 1–3 mm;

ovary glabrous.

Legumes

50–70 × 8–15 mm.

25–30 × 8–10 mm, stipitate.

2n

= 14.

Lathyrus odoratus

Lathyrus grimesii

Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Disturbed areas. Talus slopes in sagebrush com­munities.
Elevation 50–400 m. (200–1300 ft.) 1800–2600 m. (5900–8500 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CT; IL; IN; KY; ME; MI; OH; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; MB; NF; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (México), Asia (China, India), n, e Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NV
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Lathyrus odoratus is cultivated as an ornamental and is an occasional escape.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Lathyrus grimesii is known only from the northern Independence Range and southern Bull Run Mountains in Elko County.

(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. ochroleucus, 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. 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. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 732. (1753) Barneby in A. Cronquist et al.: Intermount. Fl. 3(B): 208, plate [p. 211], fig. s.n. [center right]. (1989)
Web links