Lathyrus ochroleucus Hook.
creamy peavine (cream pea; cream-flowered peavine)
Fabaceae (Pea family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #74763)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Lathyrus ochroleucus
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Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a creeping rhizome; stems erect to clambering, 30-100 cm tall/long, inconspicuously angled, not winged, glabrous.
Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound with 6 to 8 leaflets in pairs; leaflets narrowly egg-shaped to elliptic, 3-7 cm long, 1-4 cm wide; tendrils well developed, usually branched and grasping; stipules 1/3-2/3 the length of the leaflets, narrowly egg-shaped, not lobed.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, stalked, axillary cluster of 6 to 14 pea-like flowers; corollas creamy-yellow to greenish-white, 12-17 mm long, the banner 14-17 mm long, the banner-claw shorter than the blade, the wings the same size as the keel and shorter than the banner; calyces 8-10 mm long, glabrous except for a fringe of hairs on the teeth, the upper pair of teeth about 1/2 as long as the lower.
Fruits:
Pods, 4-7 cm long, 4-7 mm wide, hairless, brown with age; seeds 5 to 12.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

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.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Lathyrus ochroleucus

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
 Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max
Elevation (metres)
 848 6 2400
Slope Gradient (%)
 14 0 262

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 205 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		3 0 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 2178
Modal BEC Zone Class
 SBS

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 BG(9), BWBS(655), CWH(1), ESSF(20), ICH(97), IDF(386), MS(56), PP(16), SBPS(108), SBS(660), SWB(15)

Habitat and Range

Mesic to moist, open forests, thickets, glades, meadows and rocky ridges in the montane zone; common in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and south of 57oN, infrequent northwards; N to NT, E to PQ and S to OH, PA, VT, SD, WY and NE WA.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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