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Lathyrus latifolius

FamilyGenus: Lathyrusnative in Germany

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Species

interact

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123

Interactions

documented

About this species

A vigorous perennial climbing plant belonging to the pea family, introduced to Britain and now established in dry, sunny, calcareous grasslands. It bears showy pink flowers in early summer and forms long, winged stems that can clamber over surrounding vegetation. The plant is sometimes cultivated but is not native to the UK.

Ecological network

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PollinationFlower visit

Ecological significance

Lathyrus latifolius is an introduced species that has become established in Britain, predominantly in dry, calcareous grasslands. It is not currently listed as invasive, and no evidence of negative ecological impacts is available.

Annual cycle

A herbaceous perennial climber. Fresh shoots emerge from a persistent rootstock in spring. Flowers appear in June and July, followed by elongated seed pods. The stems die back in autumn, and the plant overwinters below ground.

Standort & Merkmale

Light

Sonne

Moisture

Trocken

Soil

Mittelzehrer (Normaler Boden)

Flowering period

Jun – Jul

Soil reaction

Basisch / Kalkhold

Bioregion

Continental

Growth form

Kletterpflanze

Woodiness

Nicht verholzt

Leaf type

Breitblättrig

Plant height

1.282 m

Morphological traits: TRY ID3 (CC BY 3.0) & TRY ID81 (CC BY)

Pollen

0.07 mg/Blüte

Pflege & Anbau

Grow in full sun on a well-drained, preferably calcareous soil. Provide support for climbing stems. It tolerates dry conditions and low soil fertility.

Scientific profile

Lathyrus latifolius is an introduced climbing perennial, now firmly established in the wild. The stems are broadly winged and can reach around 1.3 metres in length, with branched tendrils that assist the plant in scrambling over other vegetation. Leaves are broad and glabrous. From June to July it produces loose racemes of three to fifteen pink flowers, each 20–30 mm across, followed by pods up to 11 cm long containing ten to fifteen seeds. It favours openly sunny positions on dry, calcareous, nutrient-poor soils, and is typically encountered in extensive grasslands and meadows with low disturbance. Although widely grown in gardens, in Britain it is considered a neophyte – an introduction that has persisted and spread into semi-natural habitats.

Pollinators & visitors

37 Arten interagieren mit dieser Pflanze

Bombus lapidarius Bombus lucorum Polyommatus icarus Pieris rapae Pieris brassicae Megachile ligniseca Megachile maritima Megachile willughbiella Thymelicus sylvestris Celastrina argiolusBombus humilisBombus muscorum Megachile circumcinctaMegachile ericetorumBombus pratorumApis melliferaBombus jonellus Bombus sylvestris Bombus ruderatus Vanessa cardui Bombus pascuorum Thymelicus lineolaXylocopa valgaXylocopa violaceaPolyommatus thersitesGonepteryx rhamniOsmia tridentataEucera nigrescensHalictus scabiosae Eucera longicornisPolyommatus argusSyrphus ribesiiOsmia leucomelanaLasioglossum morio Bombus terrestris Bombus hortorumEucera chrysopyga

Other flower visitors

3 other species visit the flowers

Coccinella septempunctataClytiomya continuaAnthomyia liturata

Sources & data origin

•Interaktionsdaten via GloBI (CC-BY 4.0)

•pollinator_interactions

•Baden-Böhm F, App M, Thiele J (2022) — The FloRes Database: A floral resources trait database for pollinator habitat-assessment generated by a multistep workflow. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Dryad, DOI: 10.5061/dryad.djh9w0w29 (CC0)

•FloraWeb / BfN

•EIVE 1.0 — Dengler et al. (2023), DOI: 10.3897/VCS.98324 (CC BY 4.0)

•GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — GBIF Secretariat (2024), DOI: 10.15468/39omei (CC BY 4.0)

•TRY Categorical Traits (ID3) — Kattge et al. (2012), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.3 (CC BY 3.0)

•TRY Global Spectrum (ID81) — Díaz et al. (2016/2021), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.81 (CC BY)

•Checklist Alien Plants Belgium — Verloove F (2023), Botanic Garden Meise (CC BY 4.0)

•Govaerts R et al. (2025) — World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) v14. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. DOI: 10.34885/xs7h-ze42 (CC BY 4.0)

All data is licensed under CC BY 4.0, CC0, or compatible terms. Attribution according to license conditions. Full source overview →