Lathyrus sylvestris
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Fabaceae›Lathyrus›Lathyrus sylvestris
Ecology
A scrambling perennial herb found in hedges, wood-borders, scrub, and on rough banks and sheltered sea-cliffs. It is sometimes cultivated in gardens and can occur as an escape in habitats such as roadsides and railway banks. Away from the coast it seems to prefer calcareous soils. Lowland.
Status
Native
Trends
The distribution of L. sylvestris is stable. It is often difficult to know whether inland populations are native or alien and some of those mapped in the English Midlands may only be casual.
World Distribution
European Temperate element; widely naturalised outside its native range.
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Broad Habitats
Boundary and linear features (eg hedges, roadsides, walls)
Light (Ellenberg): 7
Moisture (Ellenberg): 4
Reaction (Ellenberg): 8
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 2
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 4
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 16
Annual Precipitation (mm): 835
Height (cm): 200
Perennation - primary
Perennial
Life Form - primary
Hemicryptophyte
Woodiness
Herbaceous
Clonality - primary
Rhizome shortly creeping
Comment on Clonality
Clonal spread short by distance 'phalanx' (J. Ecol. 80: 555-565 1992)
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 450
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 0
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 0
Atlas Change Index: -0.36
JNCC Designations
NBNSYS0000003303
Comment on Life Form