Sweet pea
| Sweet pea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Lathyrus |
| Species: | L. odoratus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lathyrus odoratus | |
The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.
It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) when suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting structures and helps the sweet pea to climb. In the wild plant the flowers are purple, 2–3.5 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) broad; they are larger and highly variable in color in cultivars. The blooms are usually strongly scented.
The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.