Give Peas a Glance

I was very pleasantly surprised by all the positive feedback I received about my Borage and Mustard Family tutorials. Lots of plant people out there, a number of whom asked that the Pea family tutorial start sooner, rather than later. I'm happy to oblige.

For Pea Family plants in Sabino Canyon, we're going to use Anne Green's approved method of identification, namely:

Two of three, must be a pea. 

Remember the three Fs? Foliage, Flower, Fruit? If (at least) two of them display typical pea characteristics, we can say with confidence that the plant in question is in the Pea Family.

(Does this method always work? Nope. But it works at least 90% of the time on plants in Sabino and in Tucson.)

What are these characteristics, you ask?


Foliage: line down the middle, leaf on either side

Flowers: 5 petals; banner, wings, keel

Fruit: pod

Tomorrow, I'll show examples of the typical pea foliage.