Lathyrus nissolia L.
Grass Vetchling
Grass vetchling is an intriguing native annual of the pea family that disguises itself among grasses. Unlike most vetches it bears no obvious leaflets or tendrils; instead its leaf stalks are flattened into long, grass-like blades, so that out of flower it is almost invisible in the sward.
About
Grass vetchling is an intriguing native annual of the pea family that disguises itself among grasses. Unlike most vetches it bears no obvious leaflets or tendrils; instead its leaf stalks are flattened into long, grass-like blades, so that out of flower it is almost invisible in the sward. The disguise is broken in early summer when slender stems carry one or two vivid crimson-pink pea flowers, seemingly floating among the grass.
It favours dry, open grassy places, grassy banks, rough pastures, verges, railway banks, woodland rides and coastal grassland, typically on heavy clay or chalky soils in sun. Native in Britain and the Channel Islands, it is most frequent in southern and south-eastern England and has spread in recent decades. Flowering from May to July, it offers nectar to bees and fixes nitrogen as a legume. A distinctive, subtle addition to meadow and grassland mixes on the right soils.
Also known as
Grass pea
Synonyms
Anurus nissolia · Orobus nissolia · Pisum nissolia
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