categoryZDeciduous Deciduous List 
categoryZClimbers Climbers List 

NARROW-LEAVED EVERLASTING-PEA

Lathyrus sylvestris

Pea Family [Fabaceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug

category
category8Deciduous
 
category
category8Climbers
 
status
statusZnative
 
flower
flower8pink
 
inner
inner8green
 
morph
morph8zygo
 
petals
petalsZ5
 
stem
stem8round
 
stem
stem8winged
(2)

28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
A climber which either scrambles or climbs up to 2m. The tendrils are branched into 2 or 3, and twist around anti-clockwise. Flowers in pairs with several pairs at the end of a stalk.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
Flowers can be either a greeish-pink or a yellowish-pink, sometimes white. As yet un-opened flower buds are shaped like clogs. Leaves linear to narrow-elliptic, more than four times longer than are wide.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
Large prominent banner subtending some 270° around the boxing-glove shaped pair of wings, which enclose the semi-hidden keel.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
Keel visible descending below the wings, like a boat's keel.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
Banner has greenish veins.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
As yet un-opened flower buds are curved like feet, veins visible nearer the 'toes', 'socks' (actually sepals) covering the upper 'ankle'. They are on short reddish stalks bent-over to dangle the buds downwards.


28th July 2010, Photo: © Phillip Bagshaw
The sepals cover the top part of the bud and have a distinctive square shaped notch where the 'laces' of the shoe should be (but it seems most Everlasting-Peas have this feature).


Not to be semantically confused with : Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) or Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica) [plants with similar names belonging to differing families]

Easily mistaken for : Broad-Leaved Everlasting-Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) but that is slightly longer at 3m (only up to 2m for Narrow), the flowers are a bright magenta-pink - or white - (rather than greenish-pink of Narrow) and the seed pods (not shown) are longer at 50-100mm (a shorter 40-70mm on Narrow)

Native in some places but escaped and naturalised in others in not necessarily mutually exclusive zones. The stems have a pair of opposing longitudinal wings, as do other Everlasting-Peas.

The seed pods (not shown) at 40-70mm, are shorter than those of Broad-Leaved Everlasting-Pea (Lathyrus latifolius).


USE BY BUTTERFLIES
LAYS EGGS ON CATERPILLAR CHRYSALIS BUTTERFLY
Long-tailed Blue



  Lathyrus sylvestris  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Fabaceae  

Distribution
 family8Pea family8Fabaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Lathyrus
Lathyrus
(Peas)

NARROW-LEAVED EVERLASTING-PEA

Lathyrus sylvestris

Pea Family [Fabaceae]