Lathyrus L.

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, mostly climbing or straggling, the stems frequently ± winged

Morphology Leaves

Leaves mostly paripinnate, the rhachis terminating in a well-developed tendril, more rarely a bristle or leaflet; leaflets in 2-few, rarely numerous, pairs or rarely absent, entire, mostly distinctly parallel-veined; petiole and rhachis sometimes dilated and leaf-like; stipules usually large and semisagittate, persistent, rarely entire

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences axillary, racemose, or flowers solitary; bracts very small, deciduous; bracteoles absent

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed; lobes subequal or the upper pair shorter

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla small to medium-sized; standard mostly broad with a short claw; wings oblong or falcately obovate, free or attached to the blunt or shortly acute keel

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary stamen free or connate with the tube; anthers uniform

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary subsessile or stipitate, few–many-ovuled; style incurved, often flattened and indurated apically and mostly bearded on the upper side, rarely glabrous; stigma terminal, capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods linear-oblong, cylindrical or flattened

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds globose or angular, sometimes flattened, smooth or rugulose; hilum short or linear; funicle with aril thinly developed.

Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary subsessile or stipitate, few–­many-flowered; style incurved, dorsally compressed, often indurated towards the apex, mostly bearded on the upper side, or rarely glabrous; stigma capitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pods linear-oblong, terete or ± laterally compressed, dehiscent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds globose or ellipsoid, sometimes compressed, smooth or rugulose, with a slender aril.

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, erect or straggling, climbing by means of tendrils.

Morphology Stem

Stems angular or ± winged.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves paripinnate, rarely imparipinnate; rhachis terminating in a tendril or a bristle, rarely reduced to a tendril; petiole and rhachis sometimes dilated and leaf-like; leaflets usually few, inrolled in bud, rarely absent, entire; stipules foliaceous, often semi-sagittate, persistent, rarely entire.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary or in axillary racemes; bracts usually minute, early caducous; bracteoles absent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-lobed, sometimes asymmetrical with the upper 2 lobes shorter.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla small to medium-sized, red, blue or yellow; standard oblong-obovate to transversely elliptic with a short broad claw; wings oblong to falcate-obovate, adherent to the keel or free; keel shorter than the wings, incurved, obtuse.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary stamen free or connate with the staminal sheath; filament sheath truncate at the apex; anthers uniform.

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

Widely known as the Vicieae, the correct name for this tribe is Fabeae (see Greuter et al., 2000, Articles 19.4 and 18.5), since it must be based on the name of the type genus of the family, Faba Mill. (= Vicia L.). This does not reflect on the names Leguminosae and Papilionoideae (see introduction) whose use as alternative names for Fabaceae and Faboideae respectively is sanctioned in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 2000; Article 18.5).

Fabeae is a well-defined tribe, forming part of the ‘temperate epulvinate series’ (Polhill, 1981a). It contains five genera, of which two (Lathyrus and Vicia) are large. The tribe as a whole is centred in the Irano-Turanian Region of the E Mediterranean. Lathyrus and Vicia, each with about 160 species, have very similar distributions centred on the Mediterranean but extending throughout Europe, N Asia and N and tropical E Africa, with secondary centres in N America and S America. One large group of species, some in Vicia and some in Lathyrus, are superficially extremely similar and can only be distinguished by technical characters of the style. This group was in the past recognised as the genus Orobus L. (Kupicha, 1981a). Lens has 4–6 species and Pisum 2 or 3. Both include important crop plants and, perhaps because of this, their taxonomy is controversial. Both are E Mediterranean genera with outlying species. The monospecific genus Vavilovia, sometimes included in Pisum, is confined to montane habitats in W Asia.

Kupicha (1981a) was unable to suggest a closest relative of the tribe; she had previously (Kupicha, 1977) excluded Abrus (Abreae) and Cicer (Cicereae) from it. The morphological analysis of Chappill (1995) placed Fabeae (as Vicieae) in a group with Astragalinae, Galeginae, Loteae, Coronilleae, Cicereae and Trifolieae. Doyle (1995) included these subtribes and tribes (except Loteae and Coronilleae) in a clade characterised by the loss of the inverted repeat (the IRLC), with Carmichaelieae (here included in Galegeae sens. lat.), Cicereae, Galegeae, Hedysareae, some Millettieae, and Trifolieae. More recent work (Wojciechowski et al., 2000) places Fabeae at the heart of a Vicioid clade that includes Trifolieae (q.v.) and Cicereae as well as Galega — a fragment of a paraphyletic Galegeae. Fabeae (as Vicieae) appears embedded within Trifolieae as sister to Trifolium.

In the analyses of Steele & Wojciechowski (2003) and Wojciechowski et al. (2004), Fabeae (as Vicieae) forms a clearly monophyletic group in which Pisum is sister to Lathyrus, and these two emerge as a well supported clade within a paraphyletic Vicia. A subclade of Vicia species is sister to Lens. Within Lathyrus, the cpDNA restriction site phylogeny of Asmussen & Liston (1998) agrees in general with dividing the genus into sections previously recognised using classical taxonomic methodology (e.g., Kupicha, 1983).

The publications of the Vicieae Database Project (e.g., Allkin et al., 1983 a & b) provide basic information for the whole tribe. In this treatment the Fabeae is considered to comprise 5 genera and c. 329 species (Fig. 57).

Sometimes treated as part of Pisum but now generally accepted as a separate genus

Habit

Herb

Ecology

Mediterranean montane vegetation (scree slopes)

Distribution

W Asia (Caucasus)

Legumes of the World. Edited by G. Lewis, B. Schrire, B. MacKinder & M. Lock. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (2005)

Note

Widely known as the Vicieae, the correct name for this tribe is Fabeae (see Greuter et al., 2000, Articles 19.4 and 18.5), since it must be based on the name of the type genus of the family, Faba Mill. (= Vicia L.). This does not reflect on the names Leguminosae and Papilionoideae (see introduction) whose use as alternative names for Fabaceae and Faboideae respectively is sanctioned in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 2000; Article 18.5).

Fabeae is a well-defined tribe, forming part of the ‘temperate epulvinate series’ (Polhill, 1981a). It contains five genera, of which two (Lathyrus and Vicia) are large. The tribe as a whole is centred in the Irano-Turanian Region of the E Mediterranean. Lathyrus and Vicia, each with about 160 species, have very similar distributions centred on the Mediterranean but extending throughout Europe, N Asia and N and tropical E Africa, with secondary centres in N America and S America. One large group of species, some in Vicia and some in Lathyrus, are superficially extremely similar and can only be distinguished by technical characters of the style. This group was in the past recognised as the genus Orobus L. (Kupicha, 1981a). Lens has 4–6 species and Pisum 2 or 3. Both include important crop plants and, perhaps because of this, their taxonomy is controversial. Both are E Mediterranean genera with outlying species. The monospecific genus Vavilovia, sometimes included in Pisum, is confined to montane habitats in W Asia.

Kupicha (1981a) was unable to suggest a closest relative of the tribe; she had previously (Kupicha, 1977) excluded Abrus (Abreae) and Cicer (Cicereae) from it. The morphological analysis of Chappill (1995) placed Fabeae (as Vicieae) in a group with Astragalinae, Galeginae, Loteae, Coronilleae, Cicereae and Trifolieae. Doyle (1995) included these subtribes and tribes (except Loteae and Coronilleae) in a clade characterised by the loss of the inverted repeat (the IRLC), with Carmichaelieae (here included in Galegeae sens. lat.), Cicereae, Galegeae, Hedysareae, some Millettieae, and Trifolieae. More recent work (Wojciechowski et al., 2000) places Fabeae at the heart of a Vicioid clade that includes Trifolieae (q.v.) and Cicereae as well as Galega — a fragment of a paraphyletic Galegeae. Fabeae (as Vicieae) appears embedded within Trifolieae as sister to Trifolium.

In the analyses of Steele & Wojciechowski (2003) and Wojciechowski et al. (2004), Fabeae (as Vicieae) forms a clearly monophyletic group in which Pisum is sister to Lathyrus, and these two emerge as a well supported clade within a paraphyletic Vicia. A subclade of Vicia species is sister to Lens. Within Lathyrus, the cpDNA restriction site phylogeny of Asmussen & Liston (1998) agrees in general with dividing the genus into sections previously recognised using classical taxonomic methodology (e.g., Kupicha, 1983).

The publications of the Vicieae Database Project (e.g., Allkin et al., 1983 a & b) provide basic information for the whole tribe. In this treatment the Fabeae is considered to comprise 5 genera and c. 329 species (Fig. 57).

The taxonomy is complicated with both inter- and infraspecific classification disputed

Habit

Herbs (often climbing)

Ecology

Mediterranean grassland and shrubland; weedy

Distribution

Mediterranean and W Asia; cultivated worldwide in temperate regions

Leguminosae, various authors. Flora Zambesiaca 3:7. 2003

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, spreading or climbing by means of tendrils.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves paripinnate, the rhachis terminating in a prehensile tendril or a bristle; leaflets in 1–3 pairs; stipules small to very large, foliaceous, semicordate, usually equalling or exceeding the leaflets, toothed at least towards the base.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary or in few-flowered axillary racemes; bracts small, deciduous; bracteoles absent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 5-partite; tube asymmetrical, slightly gibbous at the base; teeth subequal or the upper 2 shorter and broader.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla purple, pink or white, medium-sized to large; standard broadly ovate to suborbicular with a short broad claw; wings shorter than the standard, adhering to the keel, with the lamina asymmetrical, ascending, and the claw curved; keel shorter than the wings, oblong-falcate, often with a wing on the outer upper surface.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Vexillary stamen free, at least in part; filament sheath truncate; filaments somewhat dilated towards the apex; anthers uniform.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Style dorsally compressed, folded longitudinally with margins meeting abaxially, pubescent on the upper side towards the apex; stigma capitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Pod oblong, little compressed, dehiscent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds globular, numerous, with a slender aril.