68o Bulletin 320 



and leaves, preserved in Plukenet's Herbarium which forms a part of the 

 Sir Hans Sloane Collection, is the oldest specimen of the sweet pea in 

 existence. This specimen must date from about 1700 and undoubtedly 

 came directly or indirectly from the garden of Dr. Uvedale. 



John Ray,* author of " Historia Plantarum Generalis " (1688-1704), 

 describes in the third volume of this work, which appeared in 1704: 

 *' Lathyrus Major e Siciliac; a very sweet-scented Sicilian flower, with 

 a red standard; the lip-like petals surrounding the keel are pale blue. 

 Its seed pod is hairy." In the same connection he refers to the plant as 

 ".Lathyrus distoplatyphyllos hirsutis mollis, magno et peramoeno flore 

 odoratissimo purpureo." The last word has been added to Cupani's 

 description on the authority of D. Sherard. 



In 1 7 13 Mr. Petiver mentioned the plant in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions, in a paper entitled " Botanicum Hortense III " giving an account 

 of divers rare plants observed that summer — A. D. 17 13— in several 

 curious gardens about London, particularly in the Society of Apothe- 

 caries Physick Garden at Chelsea. Petiver calls the plant Lathyrus 

 Siculus, citing Boerhaave's " Index Plantarum quae Horto Academico 

 Lugduno Batavo " (17 10) as authority. The great Dutch naturalist 

 considered his plant as identical with Cupani's L. distoplatyphyllos. 

 Petiver describes the plants as coming from Sicily and having large, broad, 

 sweet-smelling flowers, with a red standard (vexillum) and blue wing 

 petals, or, as he describes them, " petalis labialibus," wrapping around the 

 " rostrum," or young ovary. " This elegant sweet-flowered plant," 

 continues Petiver, " I first observed with Dr. Plukenetf in Dr. Uvedale's 

 most curious garden at Enfield, and since at Chelsea and elsewhere. 

 Neither Gerard nor Parkinson mentions the plant, which must have been 

 introduced after their time." 



H. B. Ruppii, in " Flora Jenensis " (Francfort, 1718), places in a class 

 of plants with irregular flowers, Lathyrus Siculus Ravini, and states: 

 " In gardens they generally call it the musk-scented Lathyrus (L. mos- 

 chatum). Sometimes it varies with a white flower." Now if we examine 

 Ravini's " Introductio Generalis " (Lipsiae 1690- 1699), we find that he 

 figures " Lathyrus Siliquis hirsutis A., annual." He merely calls attention 

 to the hairy pods, and this reference is extremely doubtful since there is 

 a L. hirsutis, which is an annual, with hairy calyx and legume. 



Thus far all the authorities give Sicily as the original habitat of the sweet 

 pea ; and the forms then known were a variety with a red or purple standard 

 and blue wings, and, according to Ruppii, a variety with white flowers. 



♦John Ray (1627-1705). One of the most distinguished of English naturalists. Author of many 

 works, chief of which was " Historia Plantarum." 



t Plukenet died in 1706, therefore this sentence doubtless refers to observations made between 1 700 

 and 1706 and not to the summer of 1713. 



