Lathyrus niger

Lathyrus niger (L.) Bernh. (syn.: Orobus niger L.) (S and C-Eur., SW-As., N-Afr.) – A very rare, locally naturalized escape from cultivation. Formerly known for several decades from the Sint-Pietersberg near Petit-Lanaye (at least between 1870 and 1895) but surely gone now. Re-discovered under tree canopy at the Brugmann Hospital in Jette (Brussel) in 2005 (see:  http://www.floraofbrussels.be/floraofbrussels/searchnameFOB.php (here confirmed in 2012).

Lathyrus niger, Jette, under canopy, May 2012, F. Verloove Lathyrus niger, Jette, under canopy, May 2012, F. Verloove



Selected literature:

Lawalrée A (1963) Papilionaceae. In: Robyns W. (ed.), Flore Générale de Belgique, vol. 4, fasc. 2. Jardin Botanique de l’Etat, Bruxelles: 135-228.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith