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Fabaceae FAMILY

Lathyrus odoratus

Lathyrus odoratus

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The seed contains a toxin that is easily extractable in cold water or alcohol[1]. This toxin causes symptoms different to lathyrism (a disease of the nervous system caused by eating the seeds of certain members of this genus)[2]. Symptoms include reproduction failure and degenerative arthritis[2]. All parts of the plant, but especially the seed, contain a toxic amino-acid. It is produced in the plant at about the same time that the seed starts to develop. In small quantities the amino acid is innocuous, and the seeds of several Lathyrus species are eaten as a nutritious part of the diet. However, in larger quantities (the seed should form less than 30% of a balanced diet), it can cause a very serious disease of the nervous system known as 'lathyrism'. Symptoms appear as a paralysis of the muscles below the knees, pains in the back, followed by weakness and stiffness of the legs and progressive locomotive incoordination[3, 4, 5].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual Climber
Growth—

An easily grown plant, succeeding in any moderately good well-drained garden soil[6], whether acid or alkaline[7]. Prefers a position in full sun[6] but it also does well in partial shade[8]. A very ornamental plant, the sweet pea is often cultivated for its sweet smelling flowers, there are many named varieties[8]. Plants climb by means of tendrils[9]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[6].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in early spring in a cold frame[6]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If you have sufficient seed, then it can be sown in situ in mid spring[6]. The seed can also be sown in situ in the autumn[8, 10]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Lathyrus+odoratus>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The Plant Wealth of Iraq. — Chakravarty. H. L. ↩︎It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.
  2. [2]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  3. [3]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  4. [4]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  5. [5]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Climbers and Wall Shrubs. — Davis. B. · Viking. · 1990 · ISBN 0-670-82929-3 ↩︎Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
  8. [8]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  9. [9]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  10. [10]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  11. [11]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  12. [12]Hyptis brevipes (Lamiaceae) Extracts Strongly Inhibit the Growth and Development of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) L — Hanem H. Sakr, Shimaa H. Roshdy, & Hesham R. El-Seedi · 2013 · http://www.japsonline.com · ISBN 10.7324/JAPS.2013 ↩︎
  13. [13]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  15. [15]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  16. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎