TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) previous taxon | next taxon
Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora.

    THIS PAGE IS NO LONGER UPDATED
    AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY
  • Up-to-date information about California vascular plants is available from the Jepson eFlora.

FABACEAE

LEGUME FAMILY

Annual to tree
Leaves generally compound, alternate, stipuled; leaflets generally entire
Inflorescence: generally raceme, spike, umbel or head; flowers sometime 1–2 in axils
Flowers generally bisexual, generally bilateral; hypanthium generally flat or cup-like; sepals generally 5, fused; petals generally 5, free, or the 2 lower ± fused; stamens 1–many, often 10 with 9 filaments at least partly fused, 1 (uppermost) free; pistil 1, ovary superior, generally 1-chambered, ovules 1–many, style, stigma 1
Fruit: legume, sometimes including a stalk-like base above receptacle, dehiscent, or indehiscent and breaking into 1-seeded segments, or indehiscent, 1-seeded, and achene-like
Seeds 1–several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth
Genera in family: ± 650 genera, 18,000 species: worldwide; with grasses, requisite in agriculture and most natural ecosystems. Many cultivated, most importantly Arachis , peanut; Glycine , soybean; Phaseolus , beans; Medicago ; Trifolium ; and many orns
Reference: [Polhill & Raven (eds) 1981 Advances in legume systematics; Allen & Allen 1981 Leguminosae]
Family description and key to genera by Duane Isely.

LATHYRUS

WILD PEA

Duane Isely

Annual or perennial herb, unarmed, glabrous or hairy, rarely glandular, generally rhizomed
Stem sprawling, climbing, or erect; stem angled, flanged, or winged
Leaves even-1-pinnate; stipules persistent, upper lobe > lower; main axis ending as a tendril or short bristle; leaflets 0–16, ± opposite or alternate, linear to widely ovate
Inflorescence: raceme, generally axillary, 1–many-flowered
Flower: upper calyx lobes generally < and wider than lower; corolla 8–30 mm, pink-purple or pale, sometimes white or yellow; 9 filaments fused, 1 free; style flat, finely hairy on concave side
Fruit dehiscent, oblong, ± flat
Species in genus: ± 150 species: temp North America, Eurasia
Etymology: (Ancient Greek name)
Reference: [Broich 1987 Syst Bot 12:139–153]
Some species variable, intergrading with others; some hybridization probable. Seeds of most alien species. TOXIC to humans (especially young males) and livestock (especially horses).

Native

L. hitchcockianus Barneby & Reveal

Perennial, glabrous or puberulent
Stem angled or flanged, not winged
Leaf: stipules small; leaflets ± 4–6, 1–1.4 cm, linear to lanceolate; tendril coiled, sometimes branched
Inflorescence generally 2-flowered, open
Flower: calyx tube >> lobes; corolla 8–12 mm, lilac to purple
Fruit glabrous
Ecology: Washes, desert scrub
Elevation: 1500 m.
Bioregional distribution: ne Mojave Desert (Grapevine Mtns, Inyo Co.)
Distribution outside California: w Nevada
Expected, but last collected in CA a century ago.

previous taxon | next taxon
bioregional map for LATHYRUS%20hitchcockianus being generated
 


Retrieve Jepson Interchange Index to Plant Names entry for Lathyrus hitchcockianus
Retrieve dichotomous key for Lathyrus
Return to treatment index page
Glossary
University & Jepson Herbaria Home Page | Copyright © by the Regents of the University of California