Lathyrus

Taxobox
name = Sweet peas

---

image_width = 250px
image_caption = Grass Vetchling, "Lathyrus nissolia"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Fabales
familia = Fabaceae
subfamilia = Faboideae
tribus = Vicieae
genus = "Lathyrus"
genus_authority = L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.The genus "Lathyrus" consists of the sweet peas and vetchlings, flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae. There are approximately 160 species of "Lathyrus"; 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. [cite journal |author=Asmussen, Conny B; Liston, Aaron| title= Chloroplast DNA Characters, Phylogeny, and Classification of Lathyrus (Fabaceae)| journal= American Journal of Botany| month=March | year=1998 | volume=85| issue=3| pages= 387| url=| doi= 10.2307/2446332] 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. [cite book | author = Fred, Edwin Broun; Baldwin, Ira Lawrence; McCoy, Elizabeth | year = 1932 | title = Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants | publisher = UW-Madison Libraries Parallel Press | location = | id = ISBN 1-893311-28-7 | pages =142]

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".

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 a toxic amino acid and if eaten in large quantities can cause lathyrism, a serious disease. [cite journal
author = Mark V. Barrow; Charles F. Simpson; Edward J. Miller
title = Lathyrism: A Review
year = 1974
journal = The Quarterly Review of Biology
volume = 49
issue = 2
pages = 101–128
url= http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0033-5770%28197406%2949%3A2%3C101%3ALAR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%232
doi = 10.1086/408017 ]

Selected species

* "Lathyrus angulatus" (Angled Pea)
* "Lathyrus annuus" (Red Fodder Pea)
* "Lathyrus aureus" (Golden Pea)
* "Lathyrus biflorus" (Twoflower 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 linifolius" (Bitter Vetch)
* "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 polyphyllus" (Leafy Pea)
* "Lathyrus pratensis" (Meadow Vetchling)
* "Lathyrus sativus" (Indian 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)

Notes