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Identification help! Sweet pea or triffid??

christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
edited June 2021 in Problem solving
Hello all, I’m hoping you can help this newbie. I’ve researched as far as I can but need some advice from my gardening elders. I sewed some sweet pea seeds in March, all went well apart from one seedling that I accidentally damaged. I snapped it whilst ‘pinching out’ and it started sending off new shoots from the base. Great, I thought, until the new shoots looked nothing like the current plant... The leaves were not like typical sweet peas but they were pinnate/fern-like. Is this a result of damage in the eary stages, or is it not in fact a sweet pea that I am growing? I’ve attached two pictures so you can see the plant. (If it helps any, the ‘sweet pea’ in question has grown at the exact same rate as the ‘real’ sweet peas I grew alongside it - it has tendrils etc it’s just the leaves are different. It is also producing multiple blooms along one flower stem - almost like a wisteria-type flower pattern if that makes any sense.) Help me out fellows and tell me I’m not inadvertently growing a triffid!?
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  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
    Not the best quality pictures, but hopefully they’re helpful in some way. Also, if it helps, the flower buds look white but they seem to be turning pink/maybe magenta coloured as they age
  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
    edited June 2021
    And another 
  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2021
    That’s a vetch. It is a legume so a relative of the pea family. The seeds are pretty similar to sweet peas.  They’re a wild plant but used to grow in flower-rich ancient meadows and formed part of a valuable hay crop.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited June 2021
    It does look like some kind of pea / legume/ vetch variety.

    Great for wildlife.
  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
    Dovefromabove said:
    That’s a vetch. It is a legume so a relative of the pea family. The seeds are pretty similar to sweet peas.  They’re a wild plant but used to grow in flower-rich ancient meadows and formed part of a valuable hay crop.  


    Thank you so much for your speedy response. How cool is that! A vetch! It’s gone through the trouble of growing so I few it’s only fair I let it flower. Unless you know of any reason why I shouldn’t? 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    No reason at all. Some of the solitary bees like it and it’s a pretty thing. It used to be quite common around the field margins and meadows on the farm where I grew up. Our goats loved it. 😊 
    Obviously if you don’t want too much of it you can pick the seed pods before they ripen. (The seeds are toxic to humans by the way). 

    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
    You’ve made my night anyway, Dove. I love learning new things - I’ve found a video on YouTube about vetch and other things our ancestors used to eat, so I shall settle down for the night and watch it. Thanks once again! 

    And thanks to you too Fire 🔥  
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    There are lots of types of vetch, but common vetch is harvestable for its flowers and peashoots for eating. The peas are ok for eating too but have to be well cooked, before hand. The peashoots are supposed to smell strongly of peas.

    I have it growing suddenly in my front garden this year. I don't where it sprang from but I'm very happy it arrived. Many butterfly types love it.
  • christianrich94christianrich94 Posts: 20
    @Fire ain’t it brilliant! I probably won’t eat any of it - I’ve got plenty of other things on my little balcony to nibble on (tomato, nasturtium and borage for a bright and fancy salad, how posh 😂) 

    Just opened the link you attached (thank you muchly) gonna have a read of it now. I’m chuffed! 
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