Scientific name: Lathyrus linifolius (Reichard) Baessler
Common name: Bitter-vetch
Description
Habit: A hairless of slightly downy perennial, to 40 cm high.
Stems: Erect, usually unbranched, winged.
Leaves: Alternate, pinnate leaves without tendril or terminal leaflet, with 2-4 pairs of narrowly oblong leaflets, 3-7 times as long as broad.
Flowers: Pink-blue, zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, 10-16 mm across, in groups of 2-6 in short racemes; calyx of 5 sepals fused into a tube, calyx teeth variable; petals 5, 2 forming free wings, 2 are fused to form a lower keel and 1 conceals the stamens and carpel; stamens 10, 9 fused to form a tube and the 10th free; carpel 1, style 1.
Fruits: A legume pod, with 4-6 seeds.
Habitat: Heaths, peaty meadows, riverbanks, rocky ground and limestone pavement.
Distribution: Frequent.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No