LATHYRUS ODORATUS, SWEET PEA -PISUM SATIVUM, CULTIVATED PEA. 
Class XVII. DIADELPHIA. Order III. DECANDRIA. 
Natural Order, LEGUMINOS M . — T H E PEA TRIBE. 
Lathyrus Odoratus, plant hairy; stems winged; leaflets ovate, mucronalate; stipulas semi-sagittate, 
lanceolate, and shorter than the petioles; peduncles 2-3-flowered, much longer than the leaves, calycine 
teeth broad, longer than the tube; legumes oblong-linear, compressed, hairy; seeds roundish. Native of 
Sicily. Flowers sweet scented. 
Sweet Peas are a great ornament to flower borders in autumn. The seeds only require to be sown in 
drills or clumps in April. Gardeners who raise sweet peas for the London markets, sow them in the autumn 
in pots, and secure them from severe weather by placing them in hot-bed frames, by which means they can 
bring them early to market. They may be continued in flower the whole summer by repeated sowings in the 
spring. When sown in pots, they require to be frequently refreshed with water. 
General History of the Dichlamydeons Plants, by George Don, F.L.S. 
The Sweet pea has several varieties, greatly differing in colour : the common sort which is blue and 
dark purple, sometimes with a tinge of red, is a native of Sicily. The more delicate kind, white and blue, 
or white and deep rose colour, sometimes with a mixture of pale blue, is a native of Ceylon, and is called 
the painted lady. 
The Tangier pea is a native of Barbary, its colours purple and red: it is an annual plant, and grows to 
the height of four or five feet, and blossoms in June or July, and dies in the autumn. Although the Sweet 
pea is now so common in this country, that we seldom see a garden without it, it is not more than a hundred 
years, since it was numbered among our rare and curious plants, and in the time of Parkinson and Evelyn, 
it was not known in our gardens. This pea blows in June, and continues in blossom till killed by the frost. 
It may be sown about half an inch deep, and it may be well to scatter the seeds pretty thickly ; if they all 
grow, the weaker ones may be removed, and the stronger left. They may be sown in October, and kept in 
doors till spring, or may be sown and placed abroad in March or April. In cold weather, the earth should 
be just kept moist: in hot or dry summer weather, it must be watered every evening, and if necessary, in the 
morning also. When the plants are about three inches high, sticks should be placed to support them, three 
or four feet in length. This plant should not be kept within doors in warm weather or it will grow very 
tall and weakly and produce few flowers. 
There is a variety of this pea entirely white, but the most beautiful is the red and white. But that I 
fear to confess so great a heresy, I would say this flower need not yield to the rose. Nothing can exceed 
the elegance of its form, nor can there be a more delicate contrast of colour. They are justly termed Papi- 
lionaceous, for they do indeed look like butterflies turned to flowers. It is sometimes difficult to believe 
that the little white butterflies which reel about in the sunshine, are not white violets or peas which have 
broken their bonds. It is equally difficult to believe that these flowers want anything but will to fly: and 
we almost expect to see them start from their stalks as Ave look at them. 
Both these fancies are authorized by the poets. 
“ In their own bright Kathaian bowers, 
Sparkle such rainbow butterflies, 
That they might fancy the rich flowers, 
That round them in the sun lay sighing, 
Had been by magic all set flying.” 
Lalltt Rookh . 
