Lathyrus
| Lathyrus | |
|---|---|
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| Grass Vetchling, Lathyrus nissolia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Fabeae |
| Genus: | Lathyrus L. |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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Lathyrus (
/ˈlæθɨrəs/)[1] 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 tropical East Africa, and 24 in temperate South America.[2] There are annual and perennial species which may be climbing or bushy. This genus has numerous sections, including Orobus, which was once a separate genus.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Genus
The genus includes the garden sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) and the perennial everlasting pea (Lathyrus latifolius). Flowers on these cultivated species may be rose, red, maroon, pink, white, yellow, purple or blue and some are bicolored; they are also fragrant, which makes them a very popular garden plant. Cultivated species are susceptible to fungal infections including downy and powdery mildew. Lathyrus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Grey Chi, Latticed Heath (both recorded on Meadow Vetchling) and Chionodes braunella.
[edit] Other species
Other species are grown for food, including L. sativus and L. cicera, and less commonly L. ochrus and L. clymenum. L. tuberosus is grown as a root vegetable for its starchy edible tuber.
The seeds of some Lathyrus species contain the toxic amino acid oxalyldiaminopropionic acid and if eaten in large quantities can cause lathyrism, a serious disease.[4]
[edit] Selected species
- Lathyrus angulatus (Angled Pea)
- Lathyrus annuus (Red Fodder Pea)
- Lathyrus aphaca (Yellow Pea)
- Lathyrus aureus (Golden Pea)
Golden Pea (Lathyrus aureus)
- Lathyrus biflorus (Twoflower Pea)
- Lathyrus bijugatus (Drypark Pea)
- Lathyrus chloranthus
- Lathyrus cicera (Red Pea)
- Lathyrus delnorticus (Del Norte Pea)
- Lathyrus hirsutus (Hairy Vetchling)
- Lathyrus japonicus (Sea Pea)
- Lathyrus jepsonii (Delta Tule Pea)
- Lathyrus lanszwertii (Nevada Pea)
- Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting Pea)
- Lathyrus laevigatus
- Lathyrus linifolius (Bitter Vetch/Heath Pea)
- Lathyrus littoralis (Silky Beach Pea)
- Lathyrus nervosus (Lord Anson's Blue Pea)
- Lathyrus nissolia (Grass Vetchling)
- Lathyrus odoratus (Sweet Pea)
- Lathyrus palustris (Marsh Pea)
- Lathyrus pauciflorus (Fewflower Pea)
- Lathyrus polyphyllus (Leafy Pea)
- Lathyrus pratensis (Meadow Vetchling)
- Lathyrus rigidus (Stiff Pea)
- Lathyrus sativus (Indian Pea)
- Lathyrus sphaericus (Grass Pea)
- Lathyrus splendens (Pride of California)
- Lathyrus sulphureus (Snub Pea)
- Lathyrus sylvestris (Flat Pea-vine)
- Lathyrus tingitanus (Tangier Pea)
- Lathyrus torreyi (Torrey's Peavine)
- Lathyrus tuberosus (Tuberous Pea)
- Lathyrus vestitus (Pacific Pea)
- Lathyrus vernus (Spring Pea)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ Asmussen, Conny B; Liston, Aaron (March 1998). "Chloroplast DNA Characters, Phylogeny, and Classification of Lathyrus (Fabaceae)". American Journal of Botany (Botanical Society of America) 85 (3): 387–401. doi:10.2307/2446332. JSTOR 2446332.
- ^ Fred, Edwin Broun; Baldwin, Ira Lawrence; McCoy, Elizabeth (1932). Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants. UW-Madison Libraries Parallel Press. pp. 142. ISBN 1-893311-28-7.
- ^ Mark V. Barrow; Charles F. Simpson; Edward J. Miller (1974). "Lathyrism: A Review". The Quarterly Review of Biology 49 (2): 101–128. doi:10.1086/408017. JSTOR 2820941. PMID 4601279.
[edit] External links
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