Veiny pea

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5 - Secure
SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FAC - Facultative

Midwest

FAC - Facultative

Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

Description

Veiny pea is a 24″ to 36″ long, climbing, perennial vine 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. 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 leaflets are elliptic, 1⅛″ to 2⅜″ long.

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.

Height

Climbing, 24″ to 36″ long

Flower Color

Purple to red

Similar Species

American vetch (Vicia americana ssp. americana) leaflets are much smaller, no more than 1″ long.

Marsh vetchling (Lathyrus palustris) stems are conspicuously winged.

Habitat

Dry. Upland woods and prairies.

Ecology

Flowering

June to July

Pests and Diseases

Use

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 7/5/2022).

Midwest Herbaria Portal. 2026. https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/index.php. Accessed 7/5/2022.

Lathyrus venosus var. intonsus Butters & H.St.John in Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Abreu, C., Acero P, A., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (2026-05-15 XR). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgxsq