Lathyrus tuberosus
Encyclopedia
Lathyrus tuberosus, also known as the Tuberous Pea, Tuberous Vetchling, Earthnut Pea, or Aardaker, 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 tendril
s, 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 flower
s are hermaphroditic
, pollinated by bee
s. The plants can also spread vegetatively from the root system.
for its edible tuber
. The sweet, starch
y tubers are edible cooked or raw. Although palatable and nutritious, the crop is hampered by low productivity.
The plant is attractive and susceptible to slug
s but is considered a noxious weed in Ontario
.
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
, native in moist temperate parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Western Asia.
The plant is a trailer or weak climber, supported by tendril
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
s, growing to 1.2 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are pinnate, with two leaflets and a branched twining tendril at the apex of the petiole. Its flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are hermaphroditic
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, pollinated by bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s. The plants can also spread vegetatively from the root system.
Cultivation and uses
It is occasionally grown as a root vegetableRoot vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...
for its edible tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
. The sweet, starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
y tubers are edible cooked or raw. Although palatable and nutritious, the crop is hampered by low productivity.
The plant is attractive and susceptible to slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s but is considered a noxious weed in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.