1826 



LATHYRUS 



LATHYRUS 



species, thriving almost anywhere, even among flags 

 and boulders. A rampant grower, it is a good trellis 

 plant, and is adapted as a cover to wild, rough places, 

 as a rock-garden, where it scrambles over bushes and 

 stones. It succeeds in shade and grows rapidly, but, 

 like all species of Lathyrus, it is impatient of removal, 

 owing to the size and length of its roots. It is not 



2112. Lathyrus grandiflorus. 



fragrant. Its varieties are not clearly defined. Var. 

 albus, Hort., the white form, is adapted to the same 

 uses as the type, and is, besides, valuable to florists 

 who want white fls. in midsummer. Var. splendens, 

 Hort., dark purple and red, is said to be the best 

 form of the type, but does not come true from seed. 

 There is a striped form, also. Other trade names are 

 vars. albiflorus, grandiflorus, grandiflorus gibus and 

 magnificus with large richly colored fls. 



8. magellanicus, Lam. LORD ANSON'S BLUE. 

 St. 3-5 ft. long, smooth, angled, somewhat branched: 

 Ifts. ovate or oblong-linear; tendrils branched; stipules 

 cordate-sagittate, broad: peduncles long, 3-4-fld.; fls. 

 dark purple-blue. June, July. Straits of Magellan. 

 A strong-growing, woody, almost evergreen species 

 covered with a bluish bloom. Since it is a maritime 

 plant, salt is said to assist its growth. It is sometimes 

 regarded as an annual. Var. albus, Hort., "LORD 

 ANSON'S WHITE," is the white form. 



9. pubescens, Hook. & Am. A soft-hairy, diffusely- 

 branching shrub: st. 4-angled: Ivs. with rarely 2 pairs 

 of Ifts., ending in a stout trifid tendril. Extra Trop. S. 

 Amer. from Valparaiso to Chiloe in Chile. G. 32:499. 



cc. Lvs. with more than 1 pair of Ifts. 



10. palustris, Linn. MARSH PEA. WING-STEMMED 

 WILD PEA. St. slender, 1-3 ft. long, glabrous or some- 

 what pubescent, often winged, rather erect: Ifts. 2-4 

 pairs, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 1-2 in. long; tendrils 

 branched; stipules small, lanceolate: peduncles 2-8-fld., 

 scarcely longer than the Ivs.; fls. purplish, J^in. long: 

 pod 2 in. long. Summer. N. N. Amer. and N. Eu., in 

 moist places. A good bog-plant. Var. myrtifolius, 

 Gray (L. myrtifolius, Muhl.). MYRTLE-LEAVED MARSH- 

 PEA. Has smaller, obtuse Ivs., broader and larger stip- 

 ules, the fls. pale purple. July, Aug. Banks of rivers, 

 N. N. Amer. to N. C. 



11. marftimus, Bigel. SEA or SEASIDE PEA. BEACH 

 PEA. St. stout, 1-2 ft. long, angled, decumbent: Ifts. 

 3-6 pairs, ovate-oblong, thick, glaucous, nearly blue, 

 1-2 in. long; stipules If .-like, broadly ovate and cor- 

 date-hastate: peduncles 6-10-fld., a little shorter 

 than the Ivs.; fls. purple; wings and keel paler, 

 %in. long: pod \% in. long, hairy. May -Aug. 

 Gravelly and sandy seacoasts throughout northern 

 hemisphere. A spreading plant with creeping root- 

 stock and of rapid growth, very tenacious of life. 

 A good plant in rock-gardens and in gravelly soil. 



12. venosus, Muhl. SHOWY WILD PEA. St. stout, 

 2-3 ft. long, finely pubescent, strongly 4-angled: 

 Ifts. 4-6 pairs, oblong-ovate, obtuse, often pubescent 

 below, 2 in. long; stipules narrow, short: peduncle 



crowded, 8-16-fld., rather shorter than the Ivs.; fls. 

 purple, 6-8 lines long: pod smooth. June, July. Shady 

 places and along streams, Canada to Ga. 



13. splendens, Kellogg. PRIDE OF CALIFORNIA. St. 

 subshrubby, slender, more or less soft-pubescent: Ifts. 

 4-6, ovate-oblong to linear, J^-l in. long, acute; 

 stipules narrow: peduncle 6-12-fld.; fls. pale rose or 

 violet, large. Dry hills of coast ranges, S. Calif. Gn. 

 52 : 162. A greenhouse plant 1 ft. long or more, becom- 

 ing 8-10 ft. at home, where it dies down during the 

 summer. Elsewhere it adapts itself to climate but is not 

 hardy in N. U. S. Sometimes confused with a variety 

 of L. latifolius. 



14. violaceus, Greene. Sts. slender, shrubby below, 

 4-8 ft. high, acutely angled: Ifts. about 12, elliptic, 

 obtuse with reflexed tips: fls. in racemes, 10-44 in each, 

 %in. long; violet-blue, banner veined with darker 

 veins. One of the most beautiful of the California 

 species, native of Los Angeles County. 



15. laetiflorus, Greene. WILD PEA. Shrubby, 4-8 ft. 

 tall: Ifts. of firm texture, elliptic-lanceolate: fls. 1 in. 

 long, fragrant, white faintly flesh-colored, the banner 

 obcordate, veined with red. S. Calif. Plant under 

 bushes or on banks. 



AA. Habit not climbing: Ivs. not tendril-bearing. (Orobus.) 

 B. Fls. yellow. 



16. montanus, Bernh. (Orobus liiteus, Linn. L. 

 luteus, Baker). St. simple, angled, smooth: Ifts. 5-8 

 pairs, large, elliptic-lanceolate, pointed, glaucous 

 below: peduncles many-fld., a little shorter than the 

 Ivs.; fls. large, orange-yellow. June, July. Forests of 

 the Alps. A shade-enduring species with fls. in erect, 

 spike-like clusters and adapted to borders and rockeries. 



BB. Fls. not yellow. 



17. polym6rphus, Nutt. PRAIRIE VETCHLING. St. 

 rather stout, usually low, glabrous or finely pubescent, 

 erect, a little woody at the base: Ifts. 3-6 pairs, scat- 

 tered, narrowly oblong, acute, thick, 1-2 in. long; 

 stipules narrowly acuminate: peduncle 2-6-fld., a little 

 longer than the Ivs.; fls. purple, large. March-July. 

 Grassy, alluvial plains, Colo, to New Mex. and Ariz. 



18. niger, Bernh. (Orobus niger, Linn.). BLACK PEA. 

 BLACK BITTER VETCH. St. erect or ascending, branched, 

 angled, 1-2 ft. long: Ifts. 6-8 pairs, elliptical or ovate, 

 ]^r\ in. long, light green, turning black when drying; 

 stipules narrow, small: peduncles 6-8-fld., longer than 

 the Ivs.; fls. purple, small. June, July. Mountainous 

 and rocky districts, Cent. Eu. B.M. 2261. Slender 

 species, with short 



rootstock, succeed- 

 ing in the shade. 



2113. 

 Lathyrus latifolius. 



(XH) 



