Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Spring Vetch
Lathyrus vernus
- Family: Pea Family – Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
- Growing form: Perennial herb.
- Height: 20–40 cm (8–16 in.). Stem erect, angled.
- Flower: Corolla irregular (zygomorphic), fairly large, nodding, purple at first, becoming blue. Petals 5: the upstanding the ‘standard’, the lateral two the ‘wings’, the lower two united to form the ‘keel’, overall shape of corolla being butterfly-like. Standard roundish, notched, wings equalling the keel, keel turned upwards. Sepals 5, united. Stamens 10. A single carpel. Inflorescence an axillary, often one-sided raceme with 3–10 flowers.
- Leaves: Alternate. Even-pinnate, lacking tendrils, leaflets in 2–4 pairs, thin, hairless, elliptic, terminated by a short bristle. Stipules conspicuous, broad.
- Fruit: A dark brown legume.
- Habitat: Rich broadleaf woods, damp forests.
- Flowering time: May–June.
The spring vetch is a Euro-Siberian, somewhat continental species. It flowers early in the spring in rich wooded slopes or amongst the dwarf shrubs in moist spruce forests of the Oxalis-myrtillus -type. Its flowers change colour towards blue while maturing. After the plant has flowered, its leaves continue to grow throughout the summer.
The spring vetch can be distinguished from its less common close relatives the bitter vetch (L. linifolius) and the black pea (L. niger) by its broad, ovate leaflets. The spring vetch is a poisonous plant, and a partly protected species: offering for sale or gathering in order to sell is forbidden (does not apply in the Åland Islands).
