Everlasting Pea

Everlasting Pea
Everlasting Pea. Lathyrus latifolius.
Fabaceae, the pea, bean or legume family.

Description:
Plant: Sparsely leafed vine with winged stems and small clusters of bright pink pea-like flowers, climbing to six feet or more. Perennial.
Flowers: Bright pink, pea-like, to 1.5", in small rounded clusters (racemes) of usually 4-8 flowers, on long stems arising from leaf nodes.
Leaves: Opposite, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, to 3", with smooth margins, in widely spaced pairs on vines with winged stems.
Fruit: A flat pea pod, 2"-3".
Blooming: June-August
Habitat: Fields, weedy areas, often climbing on other plants.

Comments: An introduced pea, is similar to the garden sweetpea, which is an annual in the same genus (L. oderatus). Though the peas resemble cultivated ones, they are possibly toxic, and probably should not be eaten.

Where to find it: Isolated weedy locations in the park. I have found it on the southeast shore of the pond, and on one of the side trails on the north side.