Lathyrus nissolia

Scientific profile

Lathyrus nissolia is a slender, erect, nearly hairless annual. It typically reaches about 37 cm in height. The leaves lack tendrils and are linear to lance-shaped, parallel-veined, measuring 4–15 cm long and 2–8 mm wide, with tiny filiform stipules only 0.5–2 mm long. One or two reddish flowers, 8–18 mm in size, are borne on a peduncle shorter than the subtending leaf. After flowering, the plant produces a compressed brownish-yellow legume 3–6 cm long and 2–5 mm wide, which contains 12–20 seeds. It is a herbaceous, broad-leaved plant of full sun, preferring fresh, moderately moist, neutral to weakly acidic soils of normal fertility. It occurs in unimproved, moderately nutrient-poor meadow habitats and tolerates low-disturbance conditions. Lathyrus nissolia is native in Great Britain.