Lathyrus vestitus
Encyclopedia
Lathyrus vestitus is a species of wild pea
known by the common name Pacific pea. It is native to western North America, where it is mostly found in the forests, woodlands, and chaparral
of California
. The ranges of some subspecies extend into Oregon
and Baja California
. This is a perennial
pea vine which varies in appearance across subspecies. Leaves are made up of several leaflets of various shapes up to 4 or 5 centimeters long. The leaves usually bear coiling tendrils
and the stipule
s may be large or small. The inflorescence
is a showy array of up to 15 pea flowers, sometimes densely packed together, and usually some shade of light to medium purple or white.
Lathyrus
Lathyrus is a genus of flowering plant species known as sweet peas and vetchlings. Lathyrus is in the legume family Fabaceae and contains approximately 160 species. They are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 species in North America, 78 in Asia, 24 in...
known by the common name Pacific pea. It is native to western North America, where it is mostly found in the forests, woodlands, and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The ranges of some subspecies extend into Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. This is a perennial
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...
pea vine which varies in appearance across subspecies. Leaves are made up of several leaflets of various shapes up to 4 or 5 centimeters long. The leaves usually bear coiling tendrils
Tendrils
Tendrils is an irregular collaboration between noted Australian guitarists, Joel Silbersher and Charlie Owen. A difficult sound to describe, Tendrils features two seemingly chaotic but strangely melodic and complementary, guitar parts and occasionally stripped back percussion.Starting out billed...
and the stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s may be large or small. The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a showy array of up to 15 pea flowers, sometimes densely packed together, and usually some shade of light to medium purple or white.
Subspecies
Lathyrus vestitus is often discussed as comprising several varieties. These are:- L. vestitus var. alefeldii
- L. vestitus var. ochropetalus
- L. vestitus var. vestitus