Lathyrus venosus

Native

Dry. Upland woods and prairies.

June to July

Purple to red

Climbing, 24″ to 36″ long

This vine is a 24″ to 36″ long, climbing, perennial forb that rises from a rhizome.

The stems are climbing, stout, and sparsely to densely hairy. They are not winged.

The leaves are alternate, evenly pinnately divided into 8 to 12 leaflets, with a tendril at the end representing the terminal leaflet.

The leaflets are elliptic, 1⅛″ to 2⅜″ long. At the base of each leaf there is a pair of small, leaf-like appendages (stipules). The stipules are narrow, asymmetrical, arrow-shaped but with only one sharp basal lobe. They are attached to the stem on one side of the base where the missing basal lobe would otherwise be.

The inflorescence is a dense, unbranched, elongated cluster rising on a long stalk from some of the leaf axils. The clusters usually have 10 to 20 flowers, but may have as few as 5. The stalk is shorter than or as long as the subtending leaf.

The individual flowers are ⅜″ to ¾″ long and pea-like, with 5 petals organized into a broad banner at the top, 2 narrow wings, and a keel in the center formed by two petals fused together at the tip. The petals are purple. There are 10 stamens.

The fruit is a long, flat pod.