Sweet Pea

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to the eastern Mediterranean.

It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 meters (nearly six feet and six inches), where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures helping the sweet pea to climb. The flowers are purple, 2-3.5 centimeters broad, in the wild plant, larger and very variable in colour in the many cultivars.

The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.

Read more about Sweet Pea:  Horticultural Development, Cultivation, Pests and Diseases, Toxicity, Genetics, See Also, Notes

Famous quotes containing the words sweet and/or pea:

    We saw Thee in Thy balmy nest,
    Young Dawn of our Eternal Day!
    We saw Thine eyes break from the East
    And chase the trembling shades away.
    We saw Thee and we blest the sight,
    We saw Thee by Thine own sweet light.
    Richard Crashaw (1613?–1649)

    I worry about people who get born nowadays, because they get born into such tiny families—sometimes into no family at all. When you’re the only pea in the pod, your parents are likely to get you confused with the Hope Diamond. And that encourages you to talk too much.
    Russell Baker (b. 1925)