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canyon pea, common Pacific pea, Pacific pea, Pacific peavine, Pacific vetchling, wild sweetpea

Habit Herbs perennial, from rhizome, glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent. Herbs perennial, from rhizome.
Stems

angled to narrowly winged, sprawling or climbing, basally branched 0–4 times, 2–20 dm.

angled, erect or sprawling, basally branched 0–2 times, 1.5–3 dm.

Leaves

4–14 cm;

tendrils well developed;

stipules lanceolate to linear, 5–25 × 1–10 mm, much smaller than leaflets (more than 1/4 width of distal leaflets);

leaflets 6–12, scattered, blades ovate to linear, 12–50 × 5–25 mm, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.

1–4 cm;

tendrils bristlelike, usually less than 1 cm;

stipules linear to lanceolate, 10–30 × 1–5 mm, nearly equal to leaflets;

leaflets 8–12, often paired, blades lanceolate to linear, 10–35 × 1–5 mm, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.

Inflorescences

5–20-flowered, 5–25 cm.

2–6-flowered, 4–11 cm.

Flowers

12–25 mm;

calyx lobes unequal, lateral lobes deltate, linear-triangular, or lanceolate and wider distal to base, shorter to longer than tube;

corolla cream-white, rose, lavender, blue-purple, or deep wine red, banner erect or reflexed toward calyx tube, blade equal to or longer than claw, wings equal to keel;

ovary glabrous or pubescent.

16–22 mm;

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

corolla usually violet to magenta, sometimes white, banner erect, blade longer than claw, wings 4–5 mm longer than keel;

ovary glabrous.

Legumes

40–60 × 4–7 mm.

35–50 × 8–12 mm, stipitate.

Lathyrus vestitus

Lathyrus decaphyllus

Distribution
from USDA
w United States; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
wc United States
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Flowers 16–25 mm, corollas dark wine red, ban­ners reflexed against calyx tube.
var. alefeldii
1. Flowers 12–17 mm, corollas cream-white, rose, lavender, or blue-purple, banners erect.
→ 2
2. Leaflet blades often sparsely to densely pubes­cent throughout, sometimes pubescent abax­ially, glabrous adaxially; flowers rose, lavender, or blue-purple; California, sw Oregon.
var. vestitus
2. Leaflet blades glabrous; flowers cream-white; Puget Sound area to sw Oregon and nw California.
var. ochropetalus
1. Herbs mostly glabrous.
var. decaphyllus
1. Herbs sparsely to densely villous.
var. incanus
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. 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. angulatus, L. aphaca, L. biflorus, L. brachycalyx, L. brownii, L. cicera, 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. tuberosus, L. venosus, L. vestitus
Subordinate taxa
L. vestitus var. alefeldii, L. vestitus var. ochropetalus, L. vestitus var. vestitus
L. decaphyllus var. decaphyllus, L. decaphyllus var. incanus
Name authority Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 276. (1838) Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 471. (1813)
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