Slender Wild-pea

Lathyrus sphaericus, Lathyrus coccineus, Slender Wild-pea,
Hebrew: טופח כדורי, Arabic: الجلبان الكروي


Scientific name:		Lathyrus sphaericus Retz.
Synonym name:		Lathyrus coccineus All
Common name:		Slender Wild-pea
Hebrew name:		טופח כדורי
Arabic name:		الجلبان الكروي
Plant Family:		Fabaceae / Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:		Therophyte (Annuals), climber
Stems:		10-40 cm high; erect or ascending; stem glabrous, not winged
Leaves:		Alternate, smooth, leaflets 2, 2–6 cm, linear to narrowly lanceolate; tendril generally coiled; small stipules
Flowers:		Hermaphrodite; solitary axillary; peduncle 1-15 mm, calyx 5-6 mm long, corolla red, orange
Fruits / pods:		Legume pod, glabrous, longitudinally striate
Flowering Period:		April, May
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name:

Lathyrus, Greek lathyros, an old name for pea.

sphaericus, σφαιρα sphaera, ball, globe, sphere; spherical.
coccineus, κοκκοϛ berry of the scarlet oak, used as a red dye; -ινηοϛ adjective suffix: composition, color; scarlet.
The Hebrew name: טופח, tophakh, Lathyrus.

The standard author abbreviation Retz. is used to indicate Anders Johan Retzius (1742 – 1821), a Swedish chemist, botanist and entomologist.
The standard author abbreviation All. is used to indicate Carlo Allioni (1728 – 1804), an Italian physician and professor of botany at the University of Turin.