''Lathyrus palustris'' is a species of wild pea known by the common name marsh pea. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North America. It is a perennial herb with leaves made up of oval-shaped or oblong leaflets a few centimeters long. It has branched, coiled

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as '' Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have ten ...

s. The plant bears an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

of two to eight pinkish purple pea flowers each up to two centimeters wide. The fruit is a

dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that o ...

legume pod.

Description

''Lathyrus linifolius'' is a perennial plant with a sprawling or climbing stem that grows to and is shallowly-winged and nearly hairless. The leaves are alternate with short winged stalks and long narrow

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s. The leaf blades are pinnate with two to four pairs of narrow lanceolate leaflets, entire margins and a terminal branching tendril. The

has a long stem and two to eight purple flowers, each long. These have five sepals and five petals and are irregular. The uppermost petal is known as the "standard", the lateral two as the "wings" and the lowest two are joined to form the "keel". There are ten stamens and a single carpel. The fruit is a flat brown pod containing up to twelve seeds. This plant flowers in July and August.

Distribution and habitat

''Lathyrus linifolius'' is native to Europe, parts of Asia and North America. Its typical habitat is in rich ground and this plant is found in damp meadows, on river banks, on the margins of ponds, by lakes and near the sea, and occasionally in coastal hedgerows. It often seems to grow among reeds (''Phragmites australis''). The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''palustris'' is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat. Marsh Pea grows from long rhizomes that allows the plant to spread vegetatively. As the common name implies, Marsh Pea, it is found in wet to moist areas where it can receive adequate sun and also allows other plants to climb on.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
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Photo gallery
palustris Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Flora of Northern America Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{fabeae-stub