Lathyrus ochroleucus
 
Cream-Coloured Vetchling

Flower Front

Moose Mountain Provincial Park
26-May-2006

Note that the key to the families in Budd's Flora requires that the calyx be regular.  In fact, the calyx teeth are unequal in this species.

bullet

Ochroleucus:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora (BF) and Flora of Alberta (FOA) leading to this species.  
bullet

stipules large, often half as long as the leaflets; NOT [stipules small]

bullet

leaflets 3-4 pairs; NOT [leaflets 4-6 pairs], NOT [leaves with only 2 leaflets]

bullet

leaves glabrous; NOT [leaves finely pubescent beneath]

bullet

flowers creamy white or yellowish; NOT [flowers purplish]

 

bullet

Lathyrus: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus.
bullet

herbs; NOT shrubs

bullet

plants climbing

bullet

terminal leaflet replaced by a tendril; NOT [terminal leaflet normal]

bullet

wings of flower free from the keel; NOT [wings of flower coherent with the keel]

bullet

style flattened; NOT filiform

bullet

style bearded along the inside; NOT [style bearded at the tip]

 
bullet

Leguminosae:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.  
bullet

herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]

bullet

plants terrestrial or semi-aquatic; NOT [plants aquatic, leaves submerged or floating]

bullet

plants NOT with colored milky juice

bullet

plants with more than one normal leaf

bullet

some or all leaves alternate; NOT [leaves opposite, whorled, or basal]

bullet

leaves with stipules

bullet

calyx regular

bullet

flowers with two floral rings, and with each petal distinct from the others

bullet

flowers irregular in shape

bullet

corolla pea-like; NOT [corolla with one petal spurred or sac-like]

bullet

stamens usually separate or partly so; NOT [stamens united into a column]

bullet

fruit a legume; NOT [fruit a 3-valved capsule]