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Sweet pea
The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.
It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in), where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild plant the flowers are purple, 2–3.5 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) broad; they are larger and highly variable in color in the many cultivars. Flowers are usually strongly scented.
The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.
Sweet peas, native to Sicily and Sardinia, were first mentioned by the Franciscan monk and botanist Francesco Cupani in the Hortus Catholicus (1696). Cupani first studied medicine, before entering the Franciscan order in 1681 at the age of 24, where he continued to cultivate his interest in natural sciences and botany, particularly to the study of the endemic flora of Sicily. In 1692, Cupani became the first Director of the botanic garden at Misilmeri, where he is believed to have cultivated sweet peas.
Cupani's scrambling sweet peas had small, short-stalked, bicolored flowers arranged in pairs and were sweetly scented, but went largely unnoticed by gardeners. Cupani is believed to have sent seed to a number of botanists, including the English botanists Robert Uvedale in Enfield, and Jacob Bobart in Oxford, and the Dutch botanist Jan Commelin who published a description and illustration of sweet peas growing in Amsterdam.
Despite the general lack of early interest amongst gardeners, some nurserymen including the British horticulturist Robert Furber began to offer sweet peas for sale as early as 1730. Still, by the mid 19th century only 5 cultivars or variants were available; Cupani's wild type sweet pea and types with white, black (or very dark purple), red, or mixed pink and white flowers.
Over the course of the 19th century however, horticulturists, nurserymen and gardeners alike began to breed new variants, leading to the formation of dwarf, cretin, hoods and picotee cultivars. The Scottish nurseryman Henry Eckford (1823–1905) cross-bred and developed the sweet pea, turning it from a rather insignificant if sweetly scented flower into a floral sensation of the 19th century.
His initial success and recognition came while serving as head gardener for the Earl of Radnor, raising new cultivars of pelargoniums and dahlias. In 1870 he went to work for one Dr. Sankey of Sandywell near Gloucester. A member of the Royal Horticultural Society, he was awarded a First Class Certificate (the top award) in 1882 for introducing the sweet pea cultivar 'Bronze Prince', marking the start of association with the flower. In 1888 he set up his development and trial fields for sweet peas in Wem in Shropshire. By 1901, he had introduced a total of 115 of the 264 cultivars grown at the time. Eckford was presented with the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour for his work. He died in 1906, but his work was continued for a time by his son John Eckford.
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Sweet pea
The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands.
It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1–2 metres (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in), where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild plant the flowers are purple, 2–3.5 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) broad; they are larger and highly variable in color in the many cultivars. Flowers are usually strongly scented.
The annual species, L. odoratus, may be confused with the everlasting pea, L. latifolius, a perennial.
Sweet peas, native to Sicily and Sardinia, were first mentioned by the Franciscan monk and botanist Francesco Cupani in the Hortus Catholicus (1696). Cupani first studied medicine, before entering the Franciscan order in 1681 at the age of 24, where he continued to cultivate his interest in natural sciences and botany, particularly to the study of the endemic flora of Sicily. In 1692, Cupani became the first Director of the botanic garden at Misilmeri, where he is believed to have cultivated sweet peas.
Cupani's scrambling sweet peas had small, short-stalked, bicolored flowers arranged in pairs and were sweetly scented, but went largely unnoticed by gardeners. Cupani is believed to have sent seed to a number of botanists, including the English botanists Robert Uvedale in Enfield, and Jacob Bobart in Oxford, and the Dutch botanist Jan Commelin who published a description and illustration of sweet peas growing in Amsterdam.
Despite the general lack of early interest amongst gardeners, some nurserymen including the British horticulturist Robert Furber began to offer sweet peas for sale as early as 1730. Still, by the mid 19th century only 5 cultivars or variants were available; Cupani's wild type sweet pea and types with white, black (or very dark purple), red, or mixed pink and white flowers.
Over the course of the 19th century however, horticulturists, nurserymen and gardeners alike began to breed new variants, leading to the formation of dwarf, cretin, hoods and picotee cultivars. The Scottish nurseryman Henry Eckford (1823–1905) cross-bred and developed the sweet pea, turning it from a rather insignificant if sweetly scented flower into a floral sensation of the 19th century.
His initial success and recognition came while serving as head gardener for the Earl of Radnor, raising new cultivars of pelargoniums and dahlias. In 1870 he went to work for one Dr. Sankey of Sandywell near Gloucester. A member of the Royal Horticultural Society, he was awarded a First Class Certificate (the top award) in 1882 for introducing the sweet pea cultivar 'Bronze Prince', marking the start of association with the flower. In 1888 he set up his development and trial fields for sweet peas in Wem in Shropshire. By 1901, he had introduced a total of 115 of the 264 cultivars grown at the time. Eckford was presented with the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour for his work. He died in 1906, but his work was continued for a time by his son John Eckford.