Grass pea

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Grass pea
Grass pea (Lathyrus nissolia)

Grass pea ( Lathyrus nissolia )

Systematics
Eurosiden I
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Butterflies (Faboideae)
Genre : Flat peas
Type : Grass pea
Scientific name
Lathyrus nissolia
L.

The grass pea ( Lathyrus nissolia ) is a butterfly (Faboideae) of the genus Lathyrus . It blooms in May to July.

description

Foliage leaf
Stem with tiny stipules of a deciduous leaf
Grass pea ( Lathyrus nissolia )
blossom

Habit and leaves

The annual herbaceous plant is usually completely bare and fresh green. The stem is simple and erect or branched at the base; it is 20 to 40 cm high, thin, and slightly square.

The foliage leaves are limited to the primary leaves , which are widened like a spade, and the semi-arrow-shaped to lanceolate, very small or even completely missing stipules . They never have leaves or tendrils. The primary leaves are linear, more or less 4 to 13 cm long and 2 to 8 mm wide, mostly pointed and show 5 strong and several fine longitudinal nerves. The stipules are very small or completely absent.

Flowers and fruits

The inflorescences are about 2/3 times as long as the primary leaves , single-flowered (rarely two-flowered) and have a thin axis that is not extended beyond the very small or completely stunted bract. The zygomorphic flower is more or less 8 to 9 mm long and stands on a short stem or nods at this. The calyx is tubular-bell-shaped, bald or with short hairs and has lanceolate teeth. The crown is purple to purple-purple and often remains completely closed. The flag is veined darker, significantly longer than the wings and the whitish boat .

The legumes are protruding or nodding, linear, about 4 to 5 cm long and 3 to 4 mm wide. They show weakly protruding, narrow mesh-forming network nerves and are initially mostly hairy and downy, later more or less bald, light olive-brown in color and eight to fifteen-seeded.

The seeds are spherical to slightly angular, warty-rough, brown and darkly spotted. The small flowers often do not open at all, but still produce ripe fruit. So you are autogamous to cloying . The seeds retain their ability to germinate for a very long time and can therefore rest in the forest floor for a long time until they have an opportunity to germinate after being cut down.

The species has chromosome number 2n = 14.

Lathyrus nissolia (Herbarium evidence). Because of its rarity and endangerment, this species should not be collected in Central Europe.

Distribution and location requirements endangerment

The grass pea occurs in the Mediterranean area, in North Africa, in Hungary, the Ukraine, in the Caucasus, in West Asia, north to France, southern England, the Netherlands and Germany. Lathyrus nissolia is a sub-Mediterranean-Mediterranean floral element that was originally probably a wood dweller and is only native to southern Europe as far as Hungary. In other areas it is naturalized in places or an arable weed that occurs only temporarily and thrives on relatively dry, lime-poor grain fields, arable land, bushes, forest meadows, pastures. In terms of plant sociology, it is mostly a Secalietea species in Central Europe, but also occurs in forest fringes, e.g. B. the Carpinion Association.

In Germany it occurs only very scattered and rarely and often inconsistent, especially in the central and southern part of Germany. In Bavaria it is rare and scattered, especially in the northern part, and is practically absent south of the Danube .

Endangerment in Germany: Category 2: endangered .

literature

supporting documents

  1. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . 8th edition, page 620. Stuttgart, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 2001. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5

Web links

Commons : Grass Pea ( Lathyrus nissolia )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files