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The Sweet Pea
The sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant within the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is native to Sicily, Cyprus, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.
It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 3 ft – 6 ft when supported on a trellis or other structure . The leaves have tendrils which twine around supporting structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild, the flowers produced by the sweet pea plant are purple and smaller than the flowers seen in cross-bred and developed cultivars.