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 species in North America, 78 in Asia, 24 in tropical East Africa, and 24 in temperate South America. There are annual and perennial species which may be climbing or bushy. This genus has numerous sections, including Orobus, which was once a separate genus. The genus has numerous synonyms, including Pisum, the ancient Latin name for the pea.
Lathyrus latifolius, the perennial peavine, perennial pea, broad-leaved everlasting-pea, or just everlasting pea, is a robust, sprawling herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe but is present on other continents, such as North America and Australia, where it is most often seen along roadsides.
Lathyrus sativus, also known as grass pea, cicerchia, blue sweet pea, chickling pea, chickling vetch, Indian pea, white pea and white vetch, is a legume commonly grown for human consumption and livestock feed in Asia and East Africa. It is a particularly important crop in areas that are prone to drought and famine, and is thought of as an 'insurance crop' as it produces reliable yields when all other crops fail. The seeds contain a neurotoxin that causes lathyrism, a neurodegenerative disease, if eaten as a primary protein source for a prolonged period.
Lathyrus pratensis or meadow vetchling, yellow pea, meadow pea and meadow pea-vine, is a perennial legume that grows to 1.2 m in height.
Lathyrus japonicus, the sea pea, beach pea, circumpolar pea or sea vetchling, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to temperate coastal areas of the Northern Hemisphere, and Argentina.
Lathyrus tuberosus is a small, climbing perennial plant, native in moist temperate parts of Europe and Western Asia. The plant is a trailer or weak climber, supported by tendrils, growing to 1.2 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with two leaflets and a branched twining tendril at the apex of the petiole. Its flowers are hermaphroditic, pollinated by bees. The plants can also spread vegetatively from the root system.
Lathyrus aphaca, known as the yellow pea or yellow vetchling, is an annual species in the family Fabaceae with yellow flowers and solitary, pea-like fruits. It originated in the Middle East and has spread throughout Europe and beyond as a weed of cultivated fields and roadsides. The fruits are eaten as a supplement to diets in some parts of South Asia but are narcotic and potentially toxic in large quantities.
Vicia sepium or bush vetch is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. A nitrogen-fixing, perennial, leguminous climbing plant that grows in hedgerows, grasslands, the edges of woodland, roadsides and rough ground. It occurs in western Europe, Crimea of Ukraine, Russia including Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia. It can also be found in eastern Canada, north-eastern states of the USA and, where suitable habitat occurs, in Greenland. It is native to, and has been recorded in, almost all parts of Britain, Ireland and associated islands.
Lathyrus sylvestris, the flat pea or narrow-leaved everlasting-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Lathyrus vernus, the spring vetchling, spring pea, or spring vetch, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Lathyrus, native 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.
Lathyrus cicera is a species of wild pea known by the common names red pea, red vetchling and flatpod peavine. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and it is known from other places as an introduced species. This is a hairless annual herb producing a slightly winged stem. The leaves are each made up of two leaflike linear leaflets 3 to 6 centimeters long. They also bear branched, curling tendrils. The inflorescence holds a single pea flower 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide which is a varying shade of red. The fruit is a hairless dehiscent legume pod.
Lathyrus hirsutus is a species of wild pea known by several common names, including Caley pea, singletary pea, hairy vetchling, and Austrian winter pea. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia, and it is known from other continents, including North America, as an introduced species. This is an annual herb producing a winged stem and leaves each made up of two leaflike leaflets with a branching, coiled tendril. The inflorescence holds one or two pink, blue, or bicolored pea flowers each 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide. The fruit is a dehiscent legume pod covered in hairs with each hair growing from a minute bulbous base. The rest of the plant is generally hairless.
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 tendrils. The plant bears an inflorescence of two to eight pinkish purple pea flowers each up to two centimeters wide. The fruit is a dehiscent legume pod.
Lathyrus tingitanus is a species of wild pea known by the common name Tangier pea. It is native to southwestern Europe and Northwest Africa, and it is present in other regions of the world as an introduced species, including the Pacific Northwest of the United States. This is an annual herb producing a winged stem which climbs by means of coiled tendrils. The leaves are each made up of two leaflike linear leaflets a few centimeters long. The inflorescence has two or three pea flowers in varying shades of red, each up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) wide. The fruit is a hairless dehiscent legume pod.
Lathyrus sphaericus is a species of wild pea known by the common names grass pea and round-seeded vetchling. It is native to Eurasia and much of Africa, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species. It can grow in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas. This is an annual herb producing a slender stem and bearing leaves each made up of two long, narrow, grasslike leaflets up to 6 centimeters long and a coiling, climbing tendril. The inflorescence is made up of one pea flower on a stalk one or two centimeters long ending a in a bristle. The flower is roughly a centimeter long and deep orange-red or dull red in color. The fruit is a hairless legume pod marked with longitudinal stripes.
Bartsia alpina is a species of perennial flowering plant, known by the common name alpine bartsia or velvetbells. It is found in the mountainous regions of Europe and also occurs in Iceland, Greenland and north‐eastern Canada.
Trichophorum cespitosum, commonly known as deergrass or tufted bulrush, is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family. It was originally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Scirpus cespitosus, but was transferred to the genus Trichophorum by the Swedish botanist Carl Johan Hartman in 1849, becoming Trichophorum cespitosum.
Lathyrus undulatus, also known as wavy pea, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus, which is in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Turkey, specifically the northwest slopes of Trabzon, Rize, Bolu, Bursa, Sakarya; as well as Crimea, specifically the southern slopes of Nikita Yayla. Its Turkish name is Istanbul Nazendesi.
Geranium rotundifolium, is a species of annual herb in the family Geraniaceae. It is native in temperate climates across much of Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia; its distribution is spreading north, in response to global warming. The species favours dry, sandy or stony habitat, including old walls, rail ballast, and building rubble, including in urban areas.
Lathyrus setifolius, the brown vetchling, is a species of annual herb in the family Fabaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and compound, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 31 cm.
