Family: Fabaceae
forest pea, veiny pea, veiny pea-vine
[Lathyrus oreophilus Wooton & Standl., more... ]
Etymology: Lathyrus: from the Greek lathyros, an old name for "pea"
Plants: climbing, perennial, 2'-3' long, stout forb with a wingless stem
Leaves: pinnately-divided into 8-12 elliptical leaflets with a tendril at the end; asymmetrical, narrowly arrow-shaped, leaf-like appendages at the base
Flowers: purple to red, 5-parted, 3/4" long; inflorescence a dense, stalked cluster (raceme) of stalked flowers; blooms June-July
Fruits: flat, long pod
Habitat: dry, moderate moisture to wet; prairies, woods, streambanks
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: climbing, perennial, 2'-3' long, stout forb with a wingless stem
Leaves: pinnately-divided into 8-12 elliptical leaflets with a tendril at the end; asymmetrical, narrowly arrow-shaped, leaf-like appendages at the base
Flowers: purple to red, 5-parted, 3/4" long; inflorescence a dense, stalked cluster (raceme) of stalked flowers; blooms June-July
Fruits: flat, long pod
Habitat: dry, moderate moisture to wet; prairies, woods, streambanks
Hazardous: Careful, this plant is hazardous!
Conservation Status: Native
Found in open oak-hickory, oak-pine, Jack pine-aspen, sugar maple-oak, and pine woods as well as oak savannas, wooded bluffs and talus slopes, dry to mesic prairies, roadsides, fields, pastures, and along railroads. Fairly common in the state but absent from the Northern Highlands and most of the northeast.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 6, Wetland Indicator = FAC Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc. Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"