''Lathyrus vernus'', the spring vetchling, spring pea, or spring vetch, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of flowering

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

in the genus ''

Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 specie ...

'',

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to forests of Europe and Siberia. It forms a dense clump of pointed leaves with purple flowers in spring, shading to a greenish-blue with age. This species, and the

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

'Alboroseus', have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Description

''Lathyrus vernus'' is a perennial plant with an upright stem without wings. The stem grows to and is erect and nearly hairless. The leaves are alternate with short stalks and large, wide

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 (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s. The leaf blades are pinnate with two to four pairs of ovate tapering leaflets with blunt tips, entire margins and no tendrils. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

has a long stem and three to ten purplish-red flowers, each long, turning bluer as they age. 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 long brown pod up to in length containing eight to fourteen seeds which are poisonous. This plant flowers early in the year, in May and June. It can be distinguished from

bitter vetch Bitter vetch is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Vicia ervilia'', called bitter vetch or ervil, an ancient grain legume crop of the Mediterranean region. *''Vicia orobus ''Vicia orobus'' is a species of Fabaceae, leguminous ...

(''L. linifolius'') and black pea (''L. niger'') by the breadth of its ovate leaflets. It does not wither after flowering but continues to grow until autumn.

Distribution and habitat

''Lathyrus vernus'' is native to Europe and parts of northern Asia. Its typical habitat is broad-leaved woodland, forest margins, plantations and clearings.

References

Gallery

File:Pink-flowered cultivar, Lathyrus vernus 'Alboroseus'.jpg, Pink-flowered cultivar, ''Lathyrus vernus'' 'Alboroseus' File:Lathyrus vernus 'Alboroseus' flower.JPG, Detail of the flower of the pink-flowered cultivar, ''Lathyrus vernus'' 'Alboroseus' File:The Soviet Union 1988 CPA 5966 stamp (Deciduous forest flowers. Spring pea).jpg, ''Lathyrus vernus'' on stamp of USSR Bombus pascuorum - Lathyrus vernus - Keila.jpg, Pollination

External links

USDA PLANTS Profile
vernus Flora of Europe Flora of Serbia Flora of Russia Flora of Siberia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{fabeae-stub