FIELD PEA 413 



on farms near large towns, and are a profitable crop on suitable 

 lands under such circumstances. 



The Field Pea, of which there are comparatively few varieties, 

 is more hardy than the garden pea, and the flowers have purple 

 or lavender coloured ' standards ' and ' wings ' of deeper purplish 

 red ; the colour of the seeds is greyish brown, dun-coloured, or 

 grey speckled with fine spots. 



Seed and Germination. — The seeds do not germinate freely 

 below a temperature of 5° C. 



The young seedling resembles that of the bean in general 

 structure. It possesses a strong tap root, two cotyledons which 

 remain permanently below ground, enclosed by the testa of the 

 seed, and an epicotyl, which comes above ground in a curved 

 form. 



Root, Stem and Leaves. — The pea possesses a marked 

 tap root and a number of branching secondary roots. The 

 stems are round and too weak to stand erect without a 

 support. 



The leaves are pinnately compound with large leaf-like stipules, 

 the leaflets, of which there are generally two or three pairs, are 

 ovate, with mucronate tips. The end of the leaf possesses one 

 or more opposite pairs of tendrils and a terminal one, all of 

 which are modified leaflets (Fig. 33). The tendrils are sensitive 

 to contact, and wind round any small support which they touch ; 

 by their aid the plant is enabled to support itself in a more or 

 less erect position by clinging to neighbouring objects. 



Inflorescence, Flowers and Fruit. — The inflorescences 

 are axillary racemes with few flowers, often only one or two. 

 Each flower is perigynous; the calyx gamosepalous and five- 

 lobed; the corolla papilionaceous (Fig. 127); the androecium is 

 diadelphous consisting of ten stamens, one of which is free, the 

 rest united by their filaments. 



The gynsecium of the flower is superior and consists of a single 

 carpel with many ovules ; the stigma is placed at the end of the 



