Lathyrus hirsutus
Encyclopedia
Lathyrus hirsutus is a species of wild pea
known by several common names, including Caley pea, hairy vetchling, and Austrian winterpea. 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 braching, 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
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 several common names, including Caley pea, hairy vetchling, and Austrian winterpea. 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
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. This is an annual herb producing a winged stem and leaves each made up of two leaflike leaflets with a braching, coiled 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...
. 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...
holds one or two pink, blue, or bicolored pea flowers each 1 to 1.5 centimeters wide. The fruit is a dehiscent
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a pre-defined way, of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent...
legume pod covered in hairs with each hair growing from a minute bulbous base. The rest of the plant is generally hairless.