Fact about Sweet Pea

Kingdom
Plantae

Division
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida

Order
Fabales

Family
Fabaceae

Subfamily
Faboideae

Tribe
Vicieae

Genus
Lathyrus

Species
odoratus

Sweet Pea is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1-2 m, where suitable support is available. Sweet Pea Flowers bloom in lavender, pink, purple, red, white, yellow in colors among others, and are 2-3.5 cm broad. Sweet Peas are often grown by gardeners for their bright colours and the sweet fragrance that gives them their name.

There is a great deal of variation in the fragrance and intensity of smell in Sweet Pea flowers. The strength of fragrance of a Sweet Pea is sensuous and captivating and depends on a number of factors, such as rain, high temperatures, time of day and the age of the flower. Certainly, some of the older varieties from the Eckford lines are the most reliably fragrant Sweet Pea flowers.
-Sweet peas have been cultivated since the 17th century and a vast number of cultivars are commercially available.

-In the genus Lathyrus, there are 110 species and innumerable cultivars. In broad terms, the genus is commonly known as vetchling or wild pea. Some garden peas (Pisum sativum), such as English peas, podded peas and snow peas are edible.
The leaves on the Sweet Pea vine are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril.

-Sweet peas have been cultivated since the 17th century and a vast number of cultivars are commercially available.

-Henry Eckford, who hybridized and selected Sweet Pea vines for their best characteristics, introduced the "Grandifloras", which revolutionized the Sweet Pea.

-In 1901, Silas Cole, head gardener to the Earl of Spencer, found a natural mutation of Sweet Pea and thus called "Multiflora".

-In recent years, New Zealand has also been a source of new Sweet Pea varieties, especially the with the breeding efforts of Dr. Keith Hammett. He made great strides in the development of new color patterns, many striped varieties, short day flowering, with a focus on fragrance.

-English gardeners call Sweet Peas the Queen of Annuals. These alluring annuals stand uniquely among garden flowers with their vivid colors, fragrance, and length of bloom in the garden.

-The fact that Sweet Pea flowers are long-lasting cut flowers is the icing on the cake. Several stems in a plain vase make a lovely country-style bouquet.

-Unlike most peas, the seeds of the sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) are poisonous, and should not be eaten. Sweet pea flowers are also not edible and are poisonous.
Native to the eastern Mediterranean region from Sicily east to Crete, the Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) flowers come in a wide range of colors.