General:
Perennial herb from a slender rhizome; stems flanged or winged, climbing, 30-100 cm tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound with 4 to 8 paired or scattered leaflets; leaflets linear to oblong-lanceolate or lance-elliptic, glabrous or hairy, 2-7 cm long, 0.3-2 cm wide; tendrils well developed, usually branched and grasping; stipules lanceolate, at most 1/2 the length of the leaflets, usually 2-lobed.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, stalked, axillary cluster of 2 to 8 pea-like flowers; corollas pink to bluish-purple (rarely white), 12-22 mm long, the banner-claw shorter than the blade, the wings and keel nearly equal to the banner; calyces 8-12 mm long, glabrous to hairy, the upper teeth triangular and shorter than the lanceolate lower teeth.
Fruits:
Pods, 3-6 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, short-hairy or becoming glabrous; seeds 5 to 8.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
1 | 0 | 5 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
0 | 0 | 2 |
Aspect (degrees) |
0 | ||
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
5 | 5 | 7 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
15 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CWH(15) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lathyrus myrtifolius Muhl. ex Willd.
Lathyrus palustris subsp. pilosus (Cham.) Hultén
Lathyrus palustris var. linearifolius Ser.
Lathyrus palustris var. macranthus (T.G. White) Fernald
Lathyrus palustris var. meridionalis Butters & H. St. John
Lathyrus palustris var. myrtifolius (Muhl. ex Willd.) A. Gray
Lathyrus palustris var. pilosus (Cham.) Ledeb.
Lathyrus palustris var. retusus Fernald & H. St. John
Orobus myrtifolius Alef.