Lathyrus jepsonii
| Lathyrus jepsonii | |
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| Species: | L. jepsonii
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| Binomial name | |
| Lathyrus jepsonii | |
Lathyrus jepsonii is a species of wild pea known by the common names delta tule pea and Jepson's pea. It is endemic to California, where it grows in a number of habitat types, including forest and estuary.
This is a perennial herb with a long, winged stem which climbs by means of branched, coiled tendrils. The leaves are made up of several pairs of lance-shaped leaflets. The plant bears an inflorescence of up to 15 pink or purplish flowers each up to 2 centimeters wide. The fruit is a hairless, dehiscent legume pod.
There are two varieties of this species.
- L. j. var. californicus is a smaller plant which is sometimes hairy,
- L. j. var. jepsonii this rare variety can exceed two meters in height and is hairless, a rare variety which grows in the estuary habitat of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the origin of the common name delta tule pea.
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