Taxon: Lathyrus aphaca L.

Summary

Genus:

Lathyrus

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Fabeae

Nomen number:

21544

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:729. 1753

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358750

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

10/28/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

61 (40 active, 31 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Autonym(s)
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. aphaca

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Aphaca marmorata Alef.
Lathyrus affinis Guss.
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. affinis (Guss.) Arcang.
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. biflorus Post
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. floribundus (Velen.) K. Malý
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. modestus P. H. Davis
Lathyrus aphaca L. var. pseudoaphaca (Boiss.) P. H. Davis
Lathyrus floribundus Velen.
Lathyrus polyanthus Boiss. & Blanche
Lathyrus pseudoaphaca Boiss.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Seeds or fruits – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
Allkin, R. et al. 1986. Names and synonyms of species and subspecies in the Vicieae: issue 3. In: Bisby, F. A. et al., Vicieae Database Project 7:30.
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. 1976-. Flores des Mascareignes.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables 54.3.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Eriksson, O. et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hitchcock, C. L. 1952. A revision of the North American species of Lathyrus. Univ. Wash. Publ. Biol. 15:9.
Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Mansfeld, R. 1959. Die Kulturpflanze, Beiheft 2.
Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Smythies, B. E. 1984-1986. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882.
Täckholm, V. 1974. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2.
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	yellow vetchling	1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
French	gesse sans feuilles	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Rankenplatterbse	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Brazil)	chícharo-amarelo	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	ervilha-olho-de-boneca	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	afaca	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	alverja silvestre	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	spjutvial	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Libya			Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kazakhstan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Kyrgyzstan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Tajikistan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Turkmenistan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Middle Asia	Uzbekistan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Egypt	Sinai
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Lebanon			Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Syria			Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Former Yugoslavia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. 1976-. Flores des Mascareignes.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Madeira Islands]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt [Sinai], Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Nepal, Pakistan

Europe

EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part], Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily)
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Naturalized
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan

Europe

MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Hungary
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Romania

Northern America

REGION: United States

Reference(s)

Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. 1976-. Flora of Libya.
Arechavaleta, M. et al., coords. 2009. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. 1976-. Flores des Mascareignes.
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Isely, D. 1998. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii)
Jahandiez, E. & R. Maire. 1931-1941. Catalogue des plantes du Maroc.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Meikle, R. D. 1977-1985. Flora of Cyprus.
Mouterde, P. 1966-. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Pottier-Alapetite, G. 1979-1981. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones.
Quézel, P. & S. Santa. 1962-1963. Nouvelle flore de l'Algerie.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables 54.3.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=21544. Accessed 15 April 2026.