Lathyrus crassipes Gillies ex Hooker & Arnott

Leguminosae

Synonyms

• Lathyrus stipularis Presler (1842)
• Lathyrus montevidensis Vogel (1839)
• Lathyrus crassipes Philippi (1865)
• Lathyrus cicera Linnaeus var. patagonica Spegazzini (1897)
• Lathyrus guaraniticus Hassler (1919)

Common names:

Lathyrus crassipes

Description:

Annual, herbaceous, very variable morphology, up to 60 cm high. Winter annual with a short growing period at the end of winter-early spring; flowers/fruits in spring-early summer and disappears at the end of the cycle.

Distribution:

Lathyrus is present in all northern continents in moist temperate climates. Two centres of diversity in South America: Rio de la Plata (Eastern Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Brazil), Paraguay and the Patagonian forests (Southern Argentina). L. crassipes is found East of the Andes and in the sub-antarctic forests of Chile.

Habitat:

Prefers temperate, cool climates. Found in good soils with abundant moisture, found along streams and marshes; in meadows associated with other small-medium size species, in general winter annuals. Abundant in virgin meadows, arable land and orchards; tolerates sligthly acid soils; appears in small populations.

Use:

Excellent quality forage, but short cycle and poor resistance to intensive grazing and trampling. At flowering time crude protein content up to 23 %, P 0.31 %. In experimental work seeding at 20 kg/ha in winter gave poor results due to attacks by ants and hares; seed harvest difficult due to shattering.

Nodulation & N fixation:

Nodulates with Rhyzobium of the pea group.

References:

Allen & Allen (1981); Burkart (1935); Fernández et al. (1988); Izaguirre & Beyhaut (1998); Rosengurtt (1946)